


The Time Traveler's Wife

by fangs_for_the_memories



Series: The Time Traveler's Wife [1]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/F, Time Travel, Time Travelling Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-09-26 19:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 75,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17147822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangs_for_the_memories/pseuds/fangs_for_the_memories
Summary: Carmilla is a time traveler, angry at the world for cursing her with the inability to keep herself in her present.  Carrying the baggage of her past, she stumbles across someone who seems to know her better than she knows herself-- a girl named Laura, who claims she's known Carmilla for most of her life.  As Carmilla moves through her future, she finds herself flung into Laura's past, with a very patient Laura always waiting for her in her present.





	1. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet our two protagonists, born a year apart, but separated by their timelines interweaving forwards and backwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you creampuffs REALLY think I was going to let a holiday season go by without dropping a gift for an amazing fandom?? Heck no! I present, the most intensely complex fic I've ever written. In fact, it's taken me five months and I'm STILL not done writing it. But if all goes according to plan, you guys will have a blast reading this one. And there might even be _another_ gift after this one.  
> In the meantime, enjoy the first five chapters! I know the original The Time Traveler's Wife wasn't exactly happy, so-- If you've read my stuff before, you know it won't exactly follow the book/movie. But if you're new here..... trust me ;)

**April 1990**

 

A baby is born to Lilita Morgan and Samuel Karnstein, an upper-class family.  Lilita is a hot-tempered woman, passionately in love with Samuel.

Samuel is a calm, warm man.

He is also a time traveler, a carrier of a genetic disorder that causes temporal displacement, mostly beyond his control.  His mother before him had it, and taught him from the age of six how to use mindfulness and inner peace to prevent jumps from being as frequent and erratic.  When he began displaying symptoms of his condition during puberty, his traveling was merely a small nuissance.

 

Samuel and Lilita agree that when their child reaches the age of six, he will pass on this knowledge.

 

* * *

 

**January 1991**

 

Laura Hollis is born to Sherman and Eileen Hollis, a middle-class family living within their means.  Eileen is a woman who chases adventure and treats everyone she meets with kindness. Sherman is a devoted, open man who errs on the side of overprotection but recognizes one’s ability to depend on themselves.

 

Hours after being born, Laura bursts out of her swaddle and rolls out of it, leading her shocked parents to declare they’re definitely going to have their hands full.

 

* * *

 

**December 1995**

 

A small girl, five years old, sits in the passenger’s seat beside her father, who is smiling fondly as his beaming daughter belts out a classic rock song with him.

 

“ _I love rock n' roll,_ ” he sings, pretending to hold a microphone in his hand.  He lowers it and turns it towards her.

“ _So put another dime in the jukebox, baby!_ ” she belts out, a forceful voice coming out of her small body.

“ _I love rock n' roll,_ ” he sings along with the radio.

They both do fist pumps and she does a little air guitar move he taught her as soon as she could stand. “ _So come and take your time and dance with meee!_ ” they continue together.

 

He starts laughing and she giggles, hugging her with his free hand before he returns it to the steering wheel to make a turn.

It’s a cold winter night, but the roads are clear and an earlier rainstorm has cleared all the clouds in the sky.  Stars are shimmering and the moon is full and as the girl glances up through the windshield, it feels like the world is just meant for this moment, for her and her father to share.

After all, they’re on their way to their favorite spot to watch the meteor shower.  A love of the galaxy was one of the many things that bonds her with her father.

 

Suddenly, she hears a ringing in her ears.  It quickly grows in intensity and she winces, clutching it in pain.

“Cupcake?  Are you okay?” her father asks, keeping his eye on the winding road.

“Ow, the sound hurts,” she whines.

He frowns.  “Buckle up, creampuff.  I’ll pull over and then we can--”

 

The car hits a patch of black ice as he’s going through the turn and the tires skid, sending the car through an awkward spin and slamming it front-first into the giant metal divider.

 

But before the skidding even occurs, the high-pitched ringing grows louder in the girl’s ears and her body tingles.  She clamps her eyes closed and it feels like her entire existence has been pulled apart and instantly put back together.

 

When she cracks her eyes open, she stares around her in confusion.

 _I’m at home_?

_And I’m naked?_

 

Realizing she’s standing without clothes in the hallway near her parents’ bedroom, she starts to head over to her bedroom.  But then she passes by the calendar her mother meticulously marks off every day she’s home as she teaches Carmilla the months of the year and how to read dates in general.

_November?_

She frowns and begins counting the squares before her.

_That was… five weeks ago!_

 

“ _Buttercup, are you coming down for breakfast?_ ” her father’s voice comes from downstairs.  “ _If you get here before your mother comes home from her flight, we can add extra chocolate chips to your pancakes!_ ”

 

Before she can even wrap her mind around what’s happening, the high-pitched ringing starts again and her body feels like it’s being split apart.

The next thing she knows, she’s back where—and _when--_ she had been when she left her father’s side-- still without clothes, and several feet behind the crashed car.  A woman in her late twenties is standing beside the car, weeping. She’s wearing clothes too big for her and she wipes at her cheek with a long sleeve.

 

The girl walks up to the woman, who seems both startled and not surprised by her sudden appearance.

Sirens can be heard in the distance.

“Hi,” the woman says sadly.  “Was this your father?”

The girl frowns.  “I-Is he… Is he okay?”

The woman swallows hard and slowly removes her backpack, pulling out a small shawl and wraps it around the girl’s shivering form.  She rubs her carefully, trying to warm her up.

 

Kneeling before her, the woman looks her in the eyes.  She holds up the girl’s clothes, which had been left behind in the front passenger seat.  “Did you just go five weeks back in time? Hear your father ask you to come down for breakfast for extra chocolate chips on your pancakes?”

The girl’s eyes widen and she nods.

The woman sighs, her eyes sad.  “First of all… Your dad… he’s…” She takes a deep breath.  “He’s dead. You understand what that means, right? Like your cat, Bagheera?”

The girl starts to cry.  “Yes.”

Tears roll down the woman’s face, too.  She starts helping the girl get re-dressed as quickly as possible before wrapping the shawl around her again.

 

“But, I don’t _understand_ ,” she wails.  “I-I was in the car with my daddy, and then I wasn’t, and I heard him calling me for pancakes.  And now I’m here and-and there are no pancakes, and he’s…”

The woman swallows hard.  “Sweetheart, you time-traveled.  This is the first time you’ve done it, but unfortunately, it won’t be the last.”  She takes a deep breath. “I’m you. From the future. I’ve been where you are, and I know you’re scared, and confused and… well, unfortunately, that’s gonna be most of your life.”

“Y-You’re me?” The girl sniffles and lets out a sob and the woman kneels before her, eyes kind.  

 

“Yes and… And sometimes this time traveling thing will feel like a curse.  You can’t control it. You can’t control where or when you go, and how long you’re there. You’ll jump around in your life a lot and you won’t be able to… you can’t really change anything important.”

The woman looks at the car beside them, the sirens growing louder.

“You’ll feel powerless, and you never show up _with_ anything. But I promise, older version of Us will teach you whatever they can you help you survive. You’ll learn to pick locks and steal things and _almost_ never get caught.”

The woman winks and offers a hollow chuckle.

“A lot of times, these jumps are triggered by stress, so try to minimize that—think of the stars, or our favorite books.  The way dad’s pancakes smelled. That kind of stuff.”

 

“This sounds scary,” the girl whimpers, and the woman pulls her in for a hug.

She nods.  “It is. And it’s lonely.  But…” The woman pulls away, tapping the girl lightly on the nose.  “It won’t always be. You’ll meet someone who makes you feel like you _belong_ , like there’s always a home for you, no matter where or when you are.  Like you matter. Like you deserve better. I promise.”

 

The girl sniffles and wipes her cheek, but seems visibly calmer.

Flashing lights appear now and the woman smirks.  “One last thing. Tell the nice police officers that you got out of the car _after_ the accident, okay?  Some people don’t understand time-traveling… and, well, you’ll learn which ones you _can_ trust.”

“What about my mommy?” the girl asks.

The woman looks at her sadly.  “You can try. Maybe you’ll have better luck with her than I did.”

She reaches out and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Little Miss Karnstein, you’re gonna have a wild life ahead of you,” the woman says, giving her a kiss on the forehead.  “And… You. Will. Be. Okay.”

 

With that, the woman disappears right in the front of the girl, who watches as her future self visibly vanishes before her.

A police car pulls up behind her and the drive door opens and closes as footsteps rapidly approach the girl.

“Are you okay?  Honey, are you okay?”

The girl turns, tears still flowing down her cheeks.  “No, but I will be.”

 

* * *

 

**September 2019**

 

“Hey,” a 28-year-old Laura Hollis greets in their home.

“Hey.”

Laura tosses a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants at her from across the room.  “When did you go this time?”

“1995.”  A flat answer, evident of a woman still in shock.

 

Laura’s eyes widen and she gets up, walking slowly towards her, but still minding personal space.  “Oh, Carm. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, that was… weird,” Carmilla says, gesturing for Laura to sit down beside her on their couch.  “Which you know is saying something given… everything.”

Carmilla snuggles up to Laura’s side and lets out a long sigh, feeling the tension drain from her body.

 

“It sucked more than I thought it would. Seeing Mini-Me have no idea what just happened, or that her dad’s dead.  Trying to prepare her for the tough life ahead of her… How damaged she’s gonna be when she finally meets you…”

“You weren’t _damaged_ when you met me, Carm,” Laura insists softly, intertwining their fingers.

Carmilla chuckles dryly.  “You would think that, wouldn’t you?  You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.” She kisses the top of Laura’s head.  “Always seeing the best in me.”

 

“That just means the best is already there,” Laura says sweetly.  “You just need a stubborn creampuff to show you where it is.”

“I’m serious,” Carmilla laughs softly.  “Seeing that scared girl I was… Knowing the crap she’s gonna have to face with her mother, and the time-traveling.  You saved me. You’re my hero.”

“And you’re mine,” Laura replies.

Carmilla smiles and as Laura gives her a long, deep kiss.  “So you’ve said.” She frowns. “How long was I gone this time?”

Laura shifts awkwardly.  “A couple… months…”

Carmilla’s eyes widen in horror and she swallows hard.  “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, frustrated. “These stupid treatments aren’t doing anything.”

 

Laura giggles and gives her another peck on the lips.  “We’re gonna be okay, Carm. We’re gonna grow old in this nice ol’ house together.  It’s gonna be full of love and laughter. Time travel can’t do anything bad to us.”

Carmilla hums.  “Promise?”

Laura nods.  “Promise.”

 

* * *

 

**November 2021**

The house is empty, and it’s evident that it hasn’t been lived in for months.  The front door’s lock clicks open and a curly red head pops her head in. She frowns in disgust.

“It’s filthy in here.”

“Per, there hasn’t been anyone living here since like, New Year’s.”

Perry steps into the house.  “I know, LaFontaine, I know. I guess just… knowing Carmilla, I thought it’d be cleaner in here with _no one_ living here anymore.”

“It’s not like Carm’s been around ever since the whole thing with Laura,” a third voice chimes in from behind them.  

 

“Tsk, Mattie, be a little understanding,” Perry chides.  “Would _you_ stick around after that?”

Mattie crosses her arms and narrows her eyes in a glare.  “I wouldn’t _be_ in that situation, because I would never allow myself to get so sentimental.”

LaF sighs.  “I’m pretty used to this house without Carm.  But the house without Laura? Man, it’s rough.”

Mattie sits down with a sigh.  “Yeah, I know. I’m going to miss her annoying chattering.”

“Well, we can at least be good friends to Carmilla in her absence.  Let’s clean the house for… whenever..” Perry quickly walks off to get a vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies.

 

Mattie rolls her eyes.  “Definitely not doing anything so trashy.”  She sits on the couch and picks up whatever’s on the seat next to her to move it so she can have more sitting room.  The letters on the front catches her eye, scribbled in crayon and faded from a couple decades.

 _“Laura & Carm _.”

She opens the photo album and smiles at a picture of Laura and her friends celebrating a birthday party, captioned, “ _Danny’s birthday, 1997._ ”  And someone else in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	2. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla is just trying to make it through the day at work when a mysterious girl appears, claiming she's known Carmilla for most of her own life.

**August 2012**

  
  


Carmilla rubs her temple and winces.  She’d just returned from a time travel trip last night to her teenage years.

The only thing worse than being a teenager being shoved into a locker and not being let out until some custodial cleaner finds you after hours?

_ Watching _ your teenage self be shoved into a locker and not being let out until some custodial cleaner finds you after hours.

 

She didn’t arrive back to August 2012 until past midnight, to find she’d been gone the entire weekend and was scheduled to start the week with the opening shift. At 8am.

Luckily, she got a hold of her friend Mattie to cover for her.  Except that meant she had a long double shift ahead of her. Alone.

 

Good thing the library allowed her to have a flexible schedule.  The fact that it was managed by her best friend Mattie, who could cover for her mysterious lateness and absences helped, too.

“Rough day?” a cheery voice asks from the other side of the circulation desk.

 

Carmilla doesn’t bother to turn around from the cart she’d just loaded some books onto.

“Yes.  So. If you don’t need actual help, please go find a table and sit there. Quietly.”

There’s a pause and Carmilla thinks for a second that the girl really did just leave.

But, no— instead she hears a sharp inhale.

“C-Carm?”

 

Carmilla frowns and turns towards the unfamiliar voice.

The young lady on the other side of the desk’s eyes widen and her mouth drops open.  “Carm!”

It was weird for someone to call her that instead of ‘Carmilla.’  Let alone a complete stranger. “Uh. Yes?”

 

“Holy Hufflepuff.  You don’t recognize me.”

Carmilla stares at the girl and sighs.  “Should I?”

She looks like she’s in total shock for a moment before she examines Carmilla.  “This  _ is _ the youngest I’ve ever seen you look…”

Carmilla clenches her jaw.   _ She can’t be talking about what I think she’s talking about _ .  “And yet, this is the oldest I’ve ever been.”

 

The girl giggles and shakes her head.  “Silly as ever.” She grins at Carmilla.  “I’m Laura. Laura Hollis.”

Carmilla looks her up and down.  “Okay. But I still don’t know you.”

“Well, I should hope not,” Laura replies smugly.  “What was it you once said to me? ‘ _ I’d never forget a cutie like you, cupcake.’ _ ”

 

Carmilla swallows hard.  _ She  _ can’t _ be talking about what I think she’s talking about,  _ she thinks again.

“Got somewhere we can talk privately?” Laura asks.  Carmilla eyes her warily and Laura huffs adorably. “Unless you want me to publicly blurt out about your Chrono-impairment?”

“My  _ what _ ?” Carmilla asks.

Laura rolls her eyes.  “Your time traveling.”

_ How does  _ she _ know?   _ Carmilla’s eyes widen and she feels like the world’s been torn away.  All she can hear now is the heart pounding in her ears, and her vision starts to blur.

She can barely make out Laura’s concerned face, and an all-too-familiar feeling starts, as if her tether to her current moment is being frayed.

 

Then, Laura reaches out and gently grabs her arm, grounding her.

“Carmilla.”  Laura’s warm voice rings through.  “Carm. Employee break room?”

Carmilla manages a frantic nod and Laura drags her away from the scattered patrons in the public area.

 

Laura finds the room and sits Carmilla down on a couch, before running off to fetch her a cup of cold water.  Carmilla gulps it down before burying her face in her hands and taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… make you panic or almost travel,” Laura mumbles sheepishly.  “This is pretty new territory for both of us.”

Carmilla stares up at her, unsure of where to even start.

“I’ve known you for like, a decade and a half,” Laura says slowly.  “You… Well, an  _ older you _ , appeared one day in a park and you introduced yourself and explained that you travel through time without being able to control it.  And ever since, every so often you’d appear to me and I-I get you clothes and food and stuff until it’s time for you to disappear again.”

 

Carmilla continues to gawk at her, barely processing.  Sure, she’d met people on her travels before. But never before had it been such a common occurrence. And she’d  _ definitely _ never trusted anyone enough to tell them about her situation.  “H- _ How _ often?” she stammers.  “How many times have we met up?”

Laura bunches up her face in concentration and Carmilla resists the urge to tell her how cute it is.  “Uhmmm… about a dozen times?”

Carmilla’s mouth drops open.  “A  _ dozen _ times?”

Laura nods.  “So you can kinda understand why I wasn’t prepared for you to totally freak out back there?” she asks shyly.  “I’m really sorry. Like I said, I’m not used to you being so… uhh.”

“Fragile?” Carmilla supplies grumpily.

Laura chuckles.  “So lost and scared.”  She sits down beside Carmilla, taking care to give her some space.  “It’s just… I’ve known you since I was six years old. You were always so sure of yourself and so cool and unaffected and blasé.”

“Sounds like you had quite a crush on me,” Carmilla teases.

 

“Yeeeeah...”  Laura laughs nervously.  “Anyway, the last time we saw each other was a couple years ago.  And I mean, you did give me a heads up that the next time I saw you, you wouldn’t recognize me.  It was just still… weird.”

Carmilla hums and looks at her apprehensively.  “So… you’re not… freaked out by this? By me?”

Laura laughs.  “Carm, you’ve been my best friend for pretty much my whole life.  I honestly thought time traveling was a common thing for an embarrassedly long amount of time.”  She shrugs. “If anything, since you’ve never met me before today, I’m pretty sure you’re the one with the validation to freak out.”

 

Carmilla takes a deep breath and looks into Laura’s understanding eyes.

“If, uh, you don’t mind… Can I have some time to process all this?  I mean, you seem like a really, really nice girl. And it’s great you know all about me-- probably more than I even know about me-- but it’s just… a lot.”

Laura nods with a smile.  “Of course. I definitely didn’t want the first time you meet me to be an ambush and I’m sorry it felt that way. I promise that wasn’t my intent.  Take all the time you need.” She pulls a small scrap of paper out of her book bag and scribbles on it with pen. “But if you ever wanna talk… here’s my number.”

 

Carmilla chuckles as she takes it. “Smooth, sundance.”

Laura grins.  “Learned from the best.”  She checks her phone and quickly slings her backpack over her shoulder.  “Welp, gotta go. Gotta get ready for the first week back at university. But anytime you wanna talk, go ahead and call or text.  I’ll answer.”

“Anytime?” Carmilla asks teasingly.

“Anytime.  Cross my heart and hope to die,” Laura nods. 

Carmilla watches as she runs off and is unable to hold back an unabashed smile.

 

A normal girl who knew Carmilla’s secret and accepted her without reserve.

A girl who knew how to handle Carmilla’s freak outs and didn’t treat her like a monster.

A girl whose number she now had.

And already she felt a little less alone in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	3. The Phone Call and the Book Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an emotionally-charged travel, Carmilla reaches out to Laura to ground her. Laura and Carmilla hang out.

**September 2012**

 

The only thing worse than watching your teenage self be shoved into a locker and not being let out until some custodial cleaner finds you after hours?

Watching your 17-year-old self run away from home following a huge argument with your mom and knowing you were never returning.

 

It was five years ago, but it still feels so raw.

 

Carmilla stumbles upon her return to September 2012, gasping from the exertion of the travel, and from feeling totally emotionally drained.

After she gets some clothes on and inhales the rest of a half-eaten sandwich she has in her fridge, she realizes how much she’s shaking.

And that all she’s been able to hear for the past hour is her racing heartbeat, pounding in her ears.  Her breathing is so erratic, her throat feels like it’s burning, and her chest aches.

 

_Yup, definitely worse than seeing my bullied teenage years._

 

Without thinking, she reaches for her phone and dials a number—the last one added to her contacts.  It rings and rings. Right as she realizes what she’s done and thinks maybe she should hang up, the other end picks up.

“ _Hello?_ ” a voice asks tiredly.

“L-L…Laura?” Carmilla says, trying and failing to steady her voice.

There’s a yawn that sounds like it’s being suppressed.  “ _Carm_ ?”  A longer yawn.  “ _Carmilla_?”

“I—Yeah.  I, I just…”  Carmilla’s eyes widen and she pulls the phone away from her ear to check the time.  “Oh, shit. Oh, _fuck_ .”  She pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes.  “It’s _so_ late.  I’m so sorry.”

“ _One could say it’s actually just really early._ ” There’s a soft chuckle on the other end and Carmilla immediately feels some tension leave her body.

 

“ _It’s fine, Carm._ ”

“It’s almost five o’clock in the morning,” Carmilla sighs, embarrassed.

“ _More like It’s fine o’clock, am I right?_ ” Laura giggles, knowing Carmilla is rolling her eyes.  She clears her throat. “ _Why_ did _you call, though?  I assume it wasn’t for my awesome comedy material._ ”

Carmilla doesn’t answer right away.  After all, she’d only met this girl once.  And now she was calling her at 4:56am while having a panic attack?   _Smooth, Karnstein.  Smooth._

 

“ _When did you travel to_?” Laura asks softly.

Carmilla’s breath hitches in her throat.  “How…”

“ _In those fifteen years of you traveling back to me, I changed a lot. So did you, but I guess some things never change,_ ” Laura replies lightly.  “ _You always sound a little frazzled after you’ve traveled.  It’s just tonight, you sound… more so._ ”

Carmilla takes a deep breath.  “2007.”

There’s a pause on the other end.  “… _Your mom?  The fight?_ ”

 

Carmilla’s mouth drops open.

“ _Crap! Sorry!  I promised you—_ Future You _—that I’d try to keep the knowledge I have about you to a minimum,_ ” Laura rambles.  “ _Coz it might freak you out.  Did I freak you out? Oh,_ hufflepuff _, I’ve totally freaked you out and now you’re too freaked out to tell me I’m freaking you out--_ ”

“ _Laura,_ ” Carmilla interrupts through laughter.  “Can you please stop ‘freaking out?’”

“ _Yes_ ,” Laura squeaks.

 

Carmilla huffs out a long sigh.  “I’m sorry. I-I’m not even sure why I called you.  Just… seeing her, seeing me _with_ her...”

Her voice trails off and Laura waits a few seconds.  “ _Carm?  Are you still there?_ ”

“Yes,” Carmilla says.  She can’t explain why, since she hasn’t really said much, but she already feels calmer and lighter.  Maybe it was knowing someone out there already gets her and accepts her. “I, uhm… feel better. So I’ll let you get back to sleep now.”

 

Laura laughs lightly.  “ _I’m glad you’re feeling better._ ”

There’s some rustling and a “ _dang it_.”

“ _Just dropped the phone on my face,_ ” she giggles sheepishly.  “ _Probably a sign I_ should _go back to sleep._ ”  Another tiny yawn.

“Laura?” Carmilla tries shyly, before she can change her mind.

“ _Yes_?”

“Do... you maybe wanna hang out sometime?” Carmilla asks.  “Seems a little unfair that you know all about me and I don’t know anything about you.”

“ _I have just the place in mind,_ ” Laura squeals, making Carmilla chuckle.  “ _I’ll text you the deets._ ”

“‘Deets?’  You know, only a dork says that,” Carmilla teases.

Laura giggles.  “ _So I’ve been told._ ”

“Goodnight, Laura.  And thank you.”

“ _Goodnight, Carm._ ”

 

* * *

 

“Gotta admit, I’ve never been here before,” Carmilla says as she approaches Laura, who’s sitting on a bench in the lobby while examining the pamphlet.

“Whoa, really?” Laura exclaims, leaping to her feet.  “No way! But you love stars and astronomy and stuff!”

Carmilla averts her gaze.  “I don’t really do a lot of… fun things.”

Laura gives her a befuddled look as she hands Carmilla her ticket, which Laura had insisted on buying.

“Kinda hard to plan to do anything in public when I never know if I’ll vanish and be displaced by a decade,” she grumbles.

Laura’s face softens and she takes Carmilla’s hand in hers.  “Well, if you do that in there, I’ll just tell people you got beamed up into a UFO.”  She lets go of Carmilla and does some jazz hands. “ _I want to believe!_ ” she declares dramatically.

Carmilla shakes her head, amused.  “Alright, alright. Come on, Mulder.”

 

Laura giggles and drags Carmilla through the lobby to the line-- which they’re at the front of.

Carmilla frowns as she skims her own pamphlet.  “We’re an hour early.”

Laura nods eagerly.

“ _Why_ are we an hour early?”

“So we can get a good seat, duh,” Laura says brightly.

Carmilla stares at her skeptically but doesn’t argue.

 

“So, uh, I actually don’t know too much of your adult life.  I didn’t even know you work at the university library,” Laura admits.

Carmilla shrugs.  “The schedule is pretty flexible.  And a friend of mine is the branch manager and she knows about my… condition.”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Mattie?”

“How did you know?” Carmilla asks.

“Well, as far as I know, she’s your only other frie...”  Laura giggles nervously. “...She’s the only other person who knows about you,” she amends quickly.  “Wow, I never knew you and Mattie work together.”

Carmilla smirks.  “Well, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I'll lose my air of mystery, won't I?”

 

Laura nods, her face bunched up in thought.

“Read any good books lately? Or even right now?” Laura asks.

Carmilla reaches into her bag.  “Yeah, actually. I just finished thi--”

“Would you two like to come in early?” a lady walking by asks.  She pulls out a keyring. “The speaker is actually in there already, setting up.  I doubt she’d mind.”

Laura looks over at Carmilla, who nods.  “Sure.”

“Thank you!” Laura beams as they walk past her.

 

She makes a beeline for two seats directly in the center of the room, waving enthusiastically at the speaker, who’s going over her notes.  The speaker waves back politely, with a genuine smile on her face.

“Wait,” Carmilla says once they’ve settled in, “all we’ve done so far is find out more about me.”

“Yeah, you and your super air of mystery,” Laura jokes.

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “Your turn. You apparently know all about my parents.  What about yours?”

Laura picks at the edge of her pamphlet.  “Uhm, mom passed away when I was six years old.  Dad has done great, considering. Slightly over protective.”  She chuckles. “Okay, _very_ overprotective.  And I mean, we had a rough few years, but my friends helped me get through them.”

“So, together, we have one full set of parents,” Carmilla comments.

Laura raises an eyebrow.  “You want to be siblings?”

Carmilla chuckles and Laura laughs too.  “Definitely. Not.” She looks down at Laura’s endearingly large book bag.  “What are you studying?”

 

“Journalism,” Laura replies. “I think the truth is powerful and people have a right to know.”

Now it’s Carmilla’s turn to raise an eyebrow.  “Not exactly the most reassuring thing someone with my… issues… wants to hear.”

“Oh, don’t worry.  I’ve been sworn to secrecy with the highest of oaths,” Laura comments vaguely.  “If lil’ seven year old me didn’t go around blabbing about it, I think 21 year old me can handle it.”

Carmilla nods, satisfied. She pauses and gestures at Laura. “How much more little are we talkin’, here? Coz...”

Laura laughs and playfully smacks Carmilla on the arm.  “You’re only like, an inch taller than me.”

“It’s an important inch.”

 

People have started entering the planetarium, but that doesn’t stop them from carrying on with their conversation.  Carmilla asks a bit about Laura’s friends, and her interests-- which feel like pretty much every single TV show ever having aired.

What _does_ stop their conversation is the moment the presentation starts.  The stars project around them, swirling in cosmic magnificence. Laura watches as Carmilla’s mouth shuts immediately, and her eyes twinkle in awe.

She feels a little bad that she completely ignores the presenter’s lecture about how this is the only exhibit in the museum that looks forward to the future, rather than focus on the past.  But ever since she’d seen Carmilla in the library, she’d been trying to keep her promise to rein in her enthusiasm at seeing her best friend again.

 

And here she was, staring up in wonder.  Laura’s pretty sure she could see tears in her eyes.

This was the first time since bumping into Carmilla that Laura could bask in having her at her side again, and for way longer than she could have her before.

She looked as lovingly kind and tragically beautiful as she did the moment Laura met her.  And in every moment since.

 

* * *

 

“Please tell me you didn’t pay $30 for that,” Carmilla says once they’ve left the museum.

“Of course not,” Laura answers.  “I paid $25. Student discount.” She pouts, eyes wide and sad.  “Wait! Did you not enjoy it?”

Carmilla’s shoulders slump forward and she stares at Laura in disbelief.  “Of _course_ I enjoyed it!”

Laura continues to look at her in confusion.

“I’m not sure _you_ enjoyed it,” Carmilla explains as she follows Laura down the street.

“Ohh.”  Laura laughs.  “I’ve come here before for class trips.  So I just figured I’d have more fun staring at y...”

Carmilla stares at her expectantly.

“Yonder.  Staring over yonder,” Laura covers messily, almost missing a turn.

“‘Yonder?’” Carmilla asks, a mischievous tone in her voice.  “See, now I’m hurt. I thought you were staring at _me_.”

“You?  Wh-Why would I be staring at you?” Laura squeaks, her voice cracking nervously.

 

“I dunno,” Carmilla says, her voice low.  “It’s not like you had a crush on me or anything, right?”

Laura gapes at her and mumbles something like, “Glory give me strength” as she quickens her pace towards their next destination.

Carmilla smirks and follows after her.  “Where are we going?”

Laura looks at her, still trying and failing to hide a growing blush.  “Book store.”

Carmilla hums in response, still amused at how flustered Laura’s gotten.  “Well, regardless of what or who you spent that entire presentation watching,” she comments, “I had a great time.  Thank you.”

Laura grins at that.  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, Karnstein.”

 

She leads Carmilla into the largest bookstore in town. “Ever hear of a book share?”

Carmilla frowns. “No.”

Laura pulls out a book and a slip of paper.  “You put one book in and pick another book to take out.”  She walks over and places one book on the shelf. “Pick a random book.”

Carmilla walks over and selects one, beginning to pull it out.   _The Night Circus_ , by Erin Morgenstern.

“Not that one,” Laura says.

Carmilla moves a few to the right and, before she can take that one, Laura shakes her head.  “Not that one, either.”

“Listen, cutie...” Carmilla growls.

Laura laughs.  “Trust me, okay?  Pick another one.”

This goes on for a few more times before Carmilla’s gone several shelves away and seems resigned to spend the rest of her life going through books, only to be rejected.

 

“Perfect!” Laura says, putting the paper away.  They walk away, with Laura fully aware that Carmilla is glaring at her.

After they leave the bookstore, Laura brings her to a small park a couple blocks away.  They sit near a tree and Laura pulls the paper back out.

“Soooo, are you gonna tell me what the hell that was about?” Carmilla says, her patience wearing thin.

Laura scribbles something on the paper and turns it so Carmilla can see it.  Dozens of book titles are written on it. Including titles of books Carmilla had chosen that Laura had said no to.  Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion.

 

“You gave this list the last time I saw you,” Laura explains.  “As far as we know, this is every book you’ve ever picked.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “What?”

Laura points to the first title on the book.  “The first time we ever met. Ever. In any timeline.  You picked this book.”

It was the first book Carmilla chose this time, too.

“That version of you came up with an idea.  She waited until she knew it’d be the last time she’d travel back to see me before a younger You met me, like we did the other day in the library.  And she told Past Me what book she had picked. And told her to have you pick another book.” She points at the second title.

The second book Carmilla chose this time, too.

 

“Ever since, every time we’ve met, you’ve chosen a different book.  You tell Past Me all the books you can remember, and I write it down and keep the list for you to memorize later when you meet me.”  Laura taps the paper for emphasis. “Do you know why?”

Carmilla shakes her head, marveling at the fact that the list filled up one side of the sheet of paper and is on its way to filling out the second side.

Laura holds up the book they wound up choosing.   _Touchwood,_ by Karin Kallmaker.

“You’ve been stuck in a circle, Carmilla Karnstein.  Never able to truly live life and move forward because you keep getting thrown around your own life.  Stuck seeing some of what your future holds, or having to relive some awful, awful events of your past.”  She slowly hands the book to Carmilla. “By doing something you’ve never done before-- in any timeline, in any iteration-- you’re breaking the cycle.  Who knows what one small decision has?”

“Like the butterfly effect,” Carmilla says softly.  “One small initial difference can lead to large unforeseen consequences over time.”

Laura nods.  “Like a ripple.”  She shrugs. “To be fair, we might never know if this little experiment will result in different outcomes.  But it couldn’t hurt to try, right?”

 

Carmilla looks at her with an unreadable expression.

“And I think it’s kinda beautiful that we’re not giving up or giving in to whatever destiny or fate might be written out for us with this whole time travel thing,” Laura continues rambling.

“‘We?’” Carmilla asks, her tone also unreadable.

Laura stares at her for a bit and smiles, nudging her playfully.  “Yeah, Carm. _We_.”

Her expression softens a bit and she pulls back.

 

“Crap, sorry.  I keep forgetting that to you, we just met.  I didn’t mean to cross any lines.”

Carmilla’s expression finally softens.  “Do you know why I called you the other night after my trip back to 2007?”

Laura shakes her head shyly.

Carmilla takes a deep breath.  “Because even though I just met you, something about you feels safe, and warm, and kind.  I can’t explain it-- maybe it’s because we’ve apparently met so many times before-- but all I know is that when I came back from seeing my mother, I felt lost.  Like I’m powerless and floating through time. And when I’m with you, I don’t feel lost. I feel grounded.”

 

Laura reaches out to take her hand, but hesitates.  Carmilla brings her hand forward with a nod of consent.

“Carm, I promise, you’re not alone anymore.  In whatever capacity you want me in your life-- whether it’s someone to call at 5am to ground you, or someone to take you to the museum, or, uh… visit you at work...”

Carmilla laughs softly.  “I think I’d like that very much.”

“Wh-Which one?” Laura asks.

This laugh comes out louder.  “All of them, cupcake. Like you said, I just met you.  But I’d like to spend more time with you. Assuming you’d like to spend more time with me.”

Laura nods.  “Of course! There’s a nice spot in the park we used to go to.  Or, uhm, that we will go to, in your case.”

Carmilla grins.  “Great. Then it’s a da--”

 

Laura blinks as, not for the first time, she watches Carmilla Karnstein disappear before her very eyes.  She lets out a sigh as she collects Carmilla’s clothes and belongings and puts them into her backpack.

And for the first time in any timeline, Laura Hollis opens by _Touchwood_ by Karin Kallmaker, and starts reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	4. The Best Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back for the first time to meet Laura in the past, just to return to the present for a pleasant surprise.

**November 1999**

 

Carmilla appears in someone’s attic, staring at an open window, shivering as soon as the crisp autumn breeze touches her skin.

There’s some giggling from a young child behind her and she tenses, clamping her eyes closed.  Flashing a kid would definitely not be ideal.

 

“Well, Carmilla?  Do you want the clothes, or not?”

Carmilla’s eyes widen and without thinking, she spins to look at the girl.

A bright eyed, blonde girl with a warm smile.  And an adorable missing tooth front and center.

“Uhh… Laura?”

The girl bunches up her face. “ _ Uhh… Carmilla _ ?” she mocks.  “Duh, who else would it be?  I haven’t grown THAT much since the last time we saw each other!”  Laura waves the clothes at her. “Are you gonna take these or are you gonna keep standing there saying my name all confused?”

Carmilla chuckles and takes them, putting them on quickly.  “Sorry, cutie. This is my first time traveling back in time to meet you.  Hell, I  _ just _ met you in my present.”

 

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Whoa, really?”

Carmilla nods.

“So if I were to thank you for helping me with that bully, you’d have no idea what I’m talking about?” Laura concludes dejectedly.

“Sorry.  None,” Carmilla replies.  “How many times have we met?  For you, anyway.”

Laura frowns in concentration before she holds up three fingers enthusiastically.

Carmilla pretends to take a while counting them.  “Ah. Five times.”

 

Laura’s eyes widen and she checks how many fingers she’s holding up before narrowing her eyes in a glare.  “Not funny, Carmilla.”

“It’s pretty funny,” Carmilla comments.

She watches with amusement as the girl turns away with an annoyed huff.  She follows Laura out of what she assumes is her house. No one seems to be home, in spite of it being evening.

Carmilla is looking around the neighborhood.  It’s not often she gets to travel to a location where a pile of clothes is waiting for her.  She usually spends most of her time trying to plan a break-in and enjoying the scenery is a rare luxury.

“Well, come on, slowpoke.  We’re gonna miss it,” Laura grumbles.  They turn a corner into a park.

“Miss what?” Carmilla asks, picking up her pace to catch up with Laura.  

“The meteor shower,” Laura answers as she leads Carmilla to a spot with a blanket and a picnic basket.

 

“Laura Hollis, is this a date?” Carmilla asks, watching as Laura’s body stiffens.

“Wh-WHAT?  N… No!” she squeaks.  “Nuh uh! Ew.”

Carmilla laughs and gently pats Laura’s shoulder.  “Calm down, spaz. I’m just joking.”

“We gotta work on your jokes,” Laura growls, settling down on the blanket.

“I’ll make a note of that,” Carmilla deadpans as she sits down next to Laura.

 

Laura opens the basket and pulls out some sandwiches.  “My dad made them,” she says, handing one to Carmilla. “Well, I watched him make one and then after he left the house, I copied what I saw him do.”

“Crafty,” Carmilla remarks.  “Which one did you make? So I know to avoid that one.”

Laura scowls and tosses a wrapped sandwich at her.  “Next time, I’m leaving you out in your travels naked.”

Carmilla laughs and picks it up, peeling the plastic and taking a bite.

 

“You eat like a slob,” Laura comments, mildly disgusted.

“Happens when I eat something tasty,” Carmilla replies with a bit of food flying from her mouth.

Laura gives her a smug look.  “I made that sandwich.”

Carmilla shrugs.  “Eh, I’ve had better.”

Laura crosses her arms.

Carmilla gives her a small nudge.  “Lighten  _ up _ , cupcake.  Thank you for the clothes and the food.”

“Sorry,” Laura sighs.  “I think I’m just in a bad mood coz…”  She stops herself and shakes her head. “Never mind.”

“What?” Carnilla asks softly.

Laura shakes her head again, taking a large bite from her own sandwich.

 

Carmilla decides to let it go.

“So, what’s your overprotective dad think you’re doing right now?  Unless you told him that you’re having a nighttime picnic with a time traveler.”

Laura doesn’t answer, picking at the edge of the blanket and clearly lost in thought.

“Do you really like that sandwich?” she asks, suddenly very shy.

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together in confusion.  “Yeah.”

Laura nods and fixes her gaze on her sandwich, visibly relieved.  “Okay.”

“Unless you think your future is in a deli, not really sure why you’re so concerned, cutie,” Carmilla tries gently.

 

Laura looks up, eyes sad.  “Promise you won’t make fun of me?  No more jokes?”

“Cross my heart, hope to die,” Carmilla replies.

Whatever emotions Laura had been holding in, come pouring out without restraint in hiccupping wails.

Carmilla’s eyes widen in panic.  “What?” she asks frantically.

“Today’s the anniversary of the day my mom died,” Laura blubbers.  “After you disappear again, I’m gonna bring another sandwich and leave it at her grave so she’s not hungry.”

Carmilla watches as Laura pulls another sandwich out from the basket.

“I wanted to make it myself bu-but… I just realized I don’t wanna give her a crappy sandwich,” Laura sniffles.

 

Carmilla feels her heart drop and stares at the crying girl before her.

“Laura, Laura,” she rushes out.  “I was teasing, okay? And it was a lame joke.  I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” She swallows hard.  “I swear, your sandwich tastes great. She’s gonna love it.”

Laura’s still sobbing.  “Y-You sure?”

Carmilla nods.  “Yes, cupcake.”

“Oh, I brought those, too,” Laura mumbles, slowly calming down.  “I made them myself, too. But I followed her recipe, so I’m not worried about how those taste.”

 

Carmilla chuckles softly.  “Better make sure, though, no?”

Laura grins and lets out a sobbed laugh.  “A time traveler  _ and _ a mind reader.”  She brings out a couple cupcakes and gives one to Carmilla.

Carmilla taps hers against Laura’s.  “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” Laura says, her voice slightly raspy.

They both take a bite into their respective cupcakes.

 

“Really fluffy and the perfect amount of sweet,” Carmilla says, crumbs flying from her mouth.

Laura cracks a large smile before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“What?” Carmilla asks.

“You’ve got frosting all over your nose,” Laura continues laughing, handing her a napkin.  “You’re a mess.”

Carmilla shrugs sheepishly as she wipes her face.  “Maybe go lighter on the frosting next time.”

Laura gasps overdramatically.  “Blasphemy!”

“Dork.”  Carmilla lightly tosses the used napkin at her, smiling as Laura squeaks.

 

They finish their sandwiches and cupcakes, sitting in silence for a bit as they look up at the sky and the stars twinkling in the darkness.

“I thought you said we might miss the meteor shower,” Carmilla eventually says.

“I may have been overly excited,” Laura admits with a blush.

Carmilla chuckles before looking pensive.  “I have an idea. Why don’t we go visit your mom now?  Give you more time with her?”

Laura lights up.  “Really? You don’t mind?”

Carmilla shakes her head.  “I’ve got nothing but time, cutie.”

Laura beams at her and packs up the basket, happily bouncing with it at her side as Carmilla follows after her, amused.

 

“You know that thing is bigger than you are, right?” she teases.

Laura narrows her eyes in a glare.  “When I’m older, I’ll be taller than you, and then you’ll regret it.”

Carmilla clicks her tongue.  “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news…”

“Liar!” Laura snaps.

“Believe what you want, Shorty,” Carmilla says with a snicker.

“Good thing I have no expectations for you being chivalrous,” Laura grumbles.  “Or I would’ve been hoping you’d carry this basket for me instead of mocking me carrying it.”

Carmilla shrugs.  “Did it ever occur to you that the reason you turn out so short is coz you’re too stubborn to let others carry things for you?”

Laura stops short.  “Did it ever occur to you that if a Shorty like me is saying that’s a low blow, it must be  _ real _ low?”

Carmilla laughs at that.  “Fine, fine. I’ll ease up on the teasing.”

They walk in comfortable silence for a bit.

 

“You mentioned something about bullying?  I dunno how long it’s been since you last saw me but is that still going on?”

“No,” Laura says.  “It’s been a few months.”

Carmilla frowns.  “Wait a minute. When I got here, you were waiting for me.  How’d you even know to do that?”

Laura smirks.  “Spoilers.” Her eyes widen.  “Huh. I wonder if that’s where you got it from.”

“I guess now we’ll never know,” Carmilla comments.

 

As they pass the gates to the cemetery, Laura gets quieter and Carmilla respects that.

She gently takes the basket when they reach a particularly hilly area and Laura smiles gratefully at her.

After some slight maneuvering to get the picnic basket over some headstones, they stop in front of one with an epitaph that reads,

“ _ EILEEN JANAE HOLLIS _

_ January 27, 1962 - November 23, 1996 _

_ Beloved mother and wife.  With a heart too big for this world. _ ”

 

Laura carefully places a blanket before the headstone and reaches out a shaking hand to touch the cold rock.

“Hi, mom,” she says softly.  “I know I was just here a couple months ago, but I brought someone with me this time.”  She gestures for Carmilla to come closer, and she does, putting down the basket carefully.  “I’ve already told you about her. Carmilla.”

Carmilla clears her throat awkwardly.  “Hi, Mrs. Hollis.”

“She’d insist you call her Eileen,” Laura whispers.

“Sorry—Hi, Eileen,” Carmilla apologizes.

 

Laura pulls out a sandwich.  “I tried really hard to make this as tasty as possible,” she says, laying it in front of the headstone.  “And here’s a cupcake. Made exactly to your recipe. I know you always said I’d probably be able to improve on it and make it better, but I don’t know…”

She puts down a cupcake, too.

“Danny stopped bullying me.  She said she thinks we’re best friends,” Laura continues, sitting cross-legged and patting the spot beside her for Carmilla to join her.  “I told her I already have one.”

She grins at Carmilla, who chuckles.

“Whoa, whoa.  I  _ just _ met you, remember?”

Laura nods.  “I know, I know.  I don’t have to be  _ your _ best friend.  You’re mine and that’s more than good enough for me.”

“You’re quite the adorable little charmer, you know,” Carmilla comments.

“That’s what my dad says, too,” Laura says, unashamed.

 

Carmilla nudges Laura lightly and points to the sky.

The meteor shower has started and the streams reflect in Laura’s wide eyes.  Her mouth drops open in awe. “It’s beautiful,” she exhales.

“It really is,” Carmilla breathes out in wonder.

“Make a wish, Carmilla,” Laura whispers.

Carmilla chuckles.  “That’s just for shooting stars, hon.”

Laura rolls her eyes.  “Fine. No wishes for you.”

 

She closes her eyes and her lips move, but Carmilla doesn’t bother trying to read them.

“And I’m not telling you my wish,” Laura says, eyes still closed.

Carmilla chuckles.  “Of course you wouldn’t.”

 

After a few more seconds of repeating her wish, Laura finally opens her eyes, only to find a pile of clothes left behind.  No Carmilla.

“Hey, mom?” Laura says, carefully folding the clothes.  “I know I’m not supposed to tell anyone my wish. But I figure it doesn’t really count. …Not just coz you’re gone, but, y’know, coz I just wished on a bunch of meteors?”

She giggles and opens the basket, putting the clothes inside.

“I wished Carmilla and I could be friends forever.  Across time. Even if I’m never her best friend. I just want her in my life.”

Laura lets out a small sigh.

“That’d be nice.”

 

* * *

 

**September 2012**

 

Carmilla reappears in the same place she left—a small park, near a tree.  In broad daylight. Right out in the open.

She gets several horrified stares before the sound of running footsteps approaches.

A large cloth is thrown on her.

“ _ Aaaaand that was our act!  The Mysteriously Appearing Naked Lady!  You’re lucky you got to see this at all—the chances of you seeing her doing it around the city ever again are slim! _ ” Laura’s panicked voice rings out.  “ _ Let’s go, Naked Lady. _ ”

Carmilla follows in the direction Laura pulls her in, sighing in relief.

 

A car door opens and Laura helps her in.  Carmilla pulls the cloth off her head and lets it fall around her shoulders.

“Man, you are lucky I’ve barely left this spot since you disappeared,” Laura says once she gets into the driver’s seat.  She reaches into the back seat and hands Carmilla a pile of clothes. “Just as you left them.”

“I’m, uh, comfortable in this,” Carmilla mumbles lamely.

Laura looks at her skeptically.  “Still trying not to freak you out but… I have seen you naked before.  There’s no way that itchy blanket is comfortable. I should know, I’ve been sleeping with it for the past few days.  If you want I’ll leave the car so you can change in peace?”

Carmilla stares at her.  “You’ve just been parked here waiting for me to come back?  For days?”

“Well, yeah.  I’m not about to let my best friend get arrested for public indecency,” Laura laughs.  She opens the driver door and steps out.

“Just knock on your window when you’re done,” she says sweetly.

 

Carmilla nods and Laura closes the door.

 

She stares at the clothes in her hands, neatly folded by a girl who’s apparently been doing this for her for most of her life.  By a girl who answered a 5am call when Carmilla was having a panic attack. By a girl who waited for days in a car alone for her to return.

By a girl who she’d left thirteen years in the past at the grave of her mother.

Carmilla scratches her nose, itchy from the remnants of frosting she’d smeared all over it when biting into a delicious cupcake.  She frowns when she realizes her cheek is wet.

And that she’s crying.  A new type of crying.

 

Not from sadness or panic or anger, like she’d done her whole life.

Tears of gratitude.

From finding a best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	5. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla and Laura hang out again a couple more times.

**October 2012**

 

“Hope you haven’t lost your ability to bake some tasty cupcakes,” Carmilla comments as she settles down on a blanket across from Laura in the park.

Laura laughs.  “Just don’t insult my sandwiches again.”

“I make no guarantees,” Carmilla replies.  Then her eyes widen. “Wait, it’s not your mom’s anniversary, is it?”

Laura shakes her head with a smile.  “No, but I’ve perfected the ability to cry and pout to get my way with you over the years.”

Carmilla holds up her hands in mock surrender.  “Consider me aptly warned.”

 

Laura grins and unwraps her sandwich.

“So what have you got planned after being stuck in a car the past few days alone?” Carmilla asks.

Laura cocks her head to the side, smiling.

“What?” Carmilla asks.

“Nothing.  You just seem more… relaxed.  Lighter,” Laura observes.

 

Carmilla takes a slow, thoughtful bite of the sandwich.  “Hmm,” she hums contentedly.

Laura raises an eyebrow.  “What?”

“Tastes better.”

“Well, I should hope so.  It’d kinda suck if my sandwich-making skills peaked at the tender age of eight.”

 

“ _ Well, as I live and breathe _ ,” a voice says sarcastically nearby.  “ _ Laura Hollis? With someone else? In  _ public _? _ ”

A tall redhead runs over to them and faces Carmilla as Laura rolls her eyes.

“Are you holding her hostage?  Did you bribe her? How ever did you get this girl to leave her dorm?”

“Ha. Ha.  So funny, Danny,” Laura says dryly.

A curly redhaired woman walks over, narrowing her eyes in concentration at Carmilla.  “Wait a minute. We’ve seen her before, haven’t we?” she says to a short-haired redhead.

“Jesus, cupcake.  Does a redhead support group meet up around here or something?” Carmilla comments.

“Oh, sweet Christmas,” the short-haired redhead remarks.  “Isn’t this the gal Laura brought to--”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “--This is Carmilla, yep,” she interrupts.  “The Carmilla you guys met is this Carmilla in the future.  As in, she has  _ no idea _ what you’re about to talk about, LaFontaine,” she adds pointedly.

 

LaFontaine snickers.  “Have an aneurism, why don’t you?”

Laura crosses her arms.

“Sh-She’s not really a time traveler, right?” the curly redhead stammers, nervously glancing from Laura to Carmilla.  “Right? You’re not?”

Carmilla stares at Laura, all teasing tone dropped.  “So it’s actually a support group for redheads you’ve blabbed my secret to?”

Laura’s mouth drops open in offense.  “It was  _ SO _ not my fault!”

“Oh, yeah?  Then whose was it?” Carmilla demands in an angry growl.

Danny cackles.  “It was  _ yours _ , H. G. Wells.”

Carmilla frowns.

“I mean, when Laur was little she was going on and on about her friend, the time traveler, til about middle school,” LaFontaine says.  “But we all thought she was crazy. Some of us still do, right, Perry?”

Perry scoffs.  “Well, of course.  There’s no such thing as time traveling, o-or Chrono-impairment, or whatever you want to call it!”

 

LaFontaine nods eagerly.  “Sure, Per. Sure. That totally explains why Carmilla here looks at least half a decade younger than the last time we saw her.”

Perry huffs but doesn’t reply.

“So you really don’t remember meeting us?” Danny asks, a mix between dubious and curious.

Carmilla shakes her head.

“She just met me in her timeline,” Laura explains.

Danny frowns.  “So your fifteen years of knowing each other…?”

“Hasn’t happened for her, yet,” Laura surmises.

 

“Yikes.  That sucks,” LaFontaine replies.  “Must feel pretty awful, Hollis.” Perry gives them a pointed look when both Laura and Carmilla deflate a bit.  “Or, uh. …Well, too late, I guess I said  _ that _ already.”

They stick out a hand at Carmilla.

“I’m LaFontaine.  Studying bio over at Silas U.”

Carmilla stares at the hand and Laura lightly elbows her.  She rolls her eyes but shakes LaFontaine’s hand.

“I’m Lola Perry.  I’m studying business administration.”

“And I’m Danny.  I’m studying politics.”

 

Carmilla gives a small wave.

“You can trust them with the secret, Carm,” Laura says gently.  “Plus, like Danny said, you’re the one who revealed it to them. Or.. will reveal it?”

“Or maybe I’ll find them so annoying now that I’ll make sure I never reveal it to them at all,” Carmilla teases.

Laura laughs.  “Puh-leez. You’d be dying to do it eventually just to drive the point home that you’re this cool, enigmatic time traveler.  And that I was just a girl crushing hard on you with no chance.”

“ _ ’Was _ ?‘” LaFontaine snorts, cackling when Laura gives them a panicked look.

 

“‘ _ Guys, guys, _ ’” Danny begins mockingly, in a high voice, “‘ _ Carmilla is so cool and she already knows everything about me and my mom and my dad and she’s such a badass!  Maybe one day she’ll teach me how to be cool and flirty. _ ’”

Laura turns a bright shade of red and covers her face.  “Daaaannyyyy!”

Danny cackles, giving her a small punch on the arm.  “Just messin’ with ya, Hollis.”

 

“So what do you two lovebirds have planned today?” LaFontaine asks, grinning when Laura lets out a horrified squeak.

When neither Laura nor Carmilla answer, Perry grabs LaFontaine and Danny by their arms and begins dragging them away.  “Come on, you two. That’s enough messing with Laura for one day.” She lets go of LaFontaine, who obediently marches onward.  “Nice to see you again, Carmilla!”

LaF and Danny smugly wave goodbye and Laura lets out a long sigh.

“Sorry about that.  My friends tend to like to watch me freak out,” Laura apologizes.  “According to them  _ and you _ , it’s hilarious.”

 

Carmilla hums but doesn’t say much else as she finishes her sandwich and a cupcake. It isn’t until they start cleaning up that Laura finally decides to speak up.

“Are you okay?”

Carmilla averts her gaze as Laura picks up the picnic basket.  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Laura shrugs and starts walking.  “You’ve been quiet ever since my friends left.  And, I mean… if you’re upset about them knowing about you, I swear once I was old enough to know better, I stopped blabbing about your time traveling.  But then you went and--”

“—told them, yeah,” Carmilla says quietly, matching Laura’s pace.  “I’m not upset about that. I mean, I’m a little upset. But if you trust them and you’re saying Future Me trusts them, then who am I to argue?”

 

“Then what’s wrong?” Laura asks gently.

Carmilla sighs and stops walking, so Laura stops, too.

“Is that really what you think I was doing?  Or… will be doing?”

“What?” Laura asks, confused.

“Using my… chrono-impairment and my romantic wiles to take advantage of you?”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “No! No, that was just a joke!”

Carmilla looks at her skeptically.

Laura huffs and sits down on a bench.  “I mean, was it a  _ little _ intimidating to know that you had, like, years of experience as this professional Laura Expert?  Well… yeah.” She chuckles. “And, I did have a front-row seat to watching you talk about your luck with the ladies, but… You were like, that cool older gal who gave me the time of day and was my best friend who popped up and had answers to my silly little problems.  But I swear I never felt like you were exploiting me or taking advantage of me. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Carmilla looks immensely relieved, but there’s still doubt in her eyes.

 

Laura takes a deep breath and speaks hesitantly.  “Okay, we’re… venturing into ‘spoilers’ territory here, but the last time I saw you, we were a mess.  Coz you knew it was going to be the last time I’d see you traveling back to see me before you met me. And I was a wreck coz I knew that that meant the next time I saw you, I’d be looking into your eyes and not see any sign of recognition.  Just the thought of that destroyed me. And, well, as my friends so wonderfully blurted out just now, I was crushing big-time on you.”

Carmilla remains silent, rather than tease her.

“It would’ve been so easy for you to take advantage of my vulnerability or my crush but, not once in fifteen years of knowing you, have I felt like you were ever even capable of doing that to me.  If anything, that last time I saw you, you were being more sentimental and gentle with me than usual.”

 

Carmilla smiles.  “Yeah?”

Laura nods.  “Yeah.” She offers a warm smile.  “How about we go to our respective homes, and then meet up again tonight to blow off some steam?  I’m sure all of this has been hard on you.”

Carmilla lets out a soft chuckle.  “Hard on  _ both _ of us.  Your friend was right.  Your best friend not knowing who you are must feel awful.” She sighs.  “I think blowing off some steam sounds pretty good to me. What did you have in mind?”

Laura pulls a flyer out of her bag and shyly shows it to Carmilla, whose eyes widen before she grins.

“You’re constantly full of surprises, cutie.  Did you know that?”

 

* * *

 

“Don’t you look like a virgin sacrifice?” Carmilla asks, amused when she sees Laura in a long flowing white top standing outside the frat house that’s hosting the party Laura wanted to go to.

Laura narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “I’m not the one in a corset, which… wow.”

Carmilla smirks as Laura is clearly taking her time appreciating Carmilla’s tight black corset.  When Laura realizes she’s been caught, she quickly averts her gaze and clears her throat.

“Besides, this is just my coat, not my actual outfit,” Laura says as they approach the house.

The guy at the front in charge of letting people in smiles at Laura.  “You came!”

She beams back at him.  “Of course, Kirsch. Showed up just for you.  Couldn’t leave my dude-scort hanging, could I?”

Kirsch looks next to Laura and his mouth drops open.  “Holy chalupa.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together.  “You.”

 

“You guys know each other?” Laura asks.

“She beat me up and stole my clothes,” Kirsch whimpers, taking an involuntary step back.  “R-Remember that night in high school I showed up at your house in nothing but my underwear?”

Laura tries and fails to stifle a giggle.  “Yes, Kirsch.” She glances over at Carmilla.  “Are you telling me  _ she _ is the one who did that to you?”

He nods frantically.  “She’s scary, dude.”

“You have no idea,” Carmilla comments with a smirk as she walks past Kirsch.

 

Laura pats him on the arm reassuringly.  “I’ll make sure you don’t lose your clothes again.”

“Thank you,” he says in a sob.

 

By the time Laura catches up to Carmilla, she’s snickering.

Laura rolls her eyes.  “I cannot believe you beat up my dude-scort and took his clothes,” she comments, amused.

“What the hell is a dude-scort?” Carmilla asks as they approach the drinks.

Laura starts filling a cup from a punch bowl.  “In my freshman year of high school, there were reports of attacks and robberies in the neighborhood.  So, the school set up a system where the athletes would escort other kids home for community service hours.”

“Wow.  A strong male protecting a woman.  What an original concept,” Carmilla comments dryly as she gives a grateful nod after Laura hands her a drink.

“Female athletes were escorts, too,” Laura says, starting on her own cup.  “Kirsch just thought it was a cute title for himself. Especially once he figured out I could do a better job at defending myself than he could.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow inquisitively.

“Dad had me learning Krav Maga to keep me busy after we lost my mom.  He wasn’t thrilled with the whole dude-scort thing, but once he met Kirsch and realized he wasn’t some jock that would try something on me, he was cool with the whole arrangement.”  Laura laughs, stepping away from the table with her drink. “He even gave Kirsch a change of clothes to wear after you apparently took his clothes.”

 

Carmilla has an unreadable expression as they settle in on an empty couch.

“What’s on your mind?” Laura asks carefully.

Carmilla shrugs, but it’s obvious she knows exactly what it is.

“Carm?” Laura presses, still being gentle.

Carmilla takes a deep breath.  “The, uhm, robberies and attacks…  I think they were…”.

Laura’s eyes widen.  “You?”

“If it was in the same area that I robbed your friend then… yeah,” Carmilla admits, averting her gaze.  “My mom’s old office was nearby and sometimes I’d travel on my way to and from there and when I’d come back I wouldn’t have clothes so...”  She clamps her eyes closed.

 

“Oh… man,” Laura replies.  Then she breaks into a fit of giggles.  Then full-out laughter.

Carmilla slowly opens her eyes in surprise.

“Who knew that my best friend was such a troublemaker?” Laura says.

“You’re not… turned off?  Or freaked out? Or disillusioned?” Carmilla asks, unsure.

Laura stops laughing and stares at her, confused.  Then she regards Carmilla carefully as she downs the rest of her drink.

 

“Why don’t we go blow off steam elsewhere?” she suggests.  “Somewhere alone? I really did just wanna stop by to see Kirsch.”

Carmilla offers a small smile.  “I think I’d like that. Very much.”

Laura gets off the couch and holds out a hand, pulling Carmilla up.

Carmilla looks into the cup with a scowl.  “You’d think a frat party would at least spike their punch.”

Laura shakes her head with an amused chuckle.  “It’s a dry party, Carm. One of their brothers just died in a drunken accident so they’re holding the party in his honor.  He was Kirsch’s roommate.”

“Oh.  Oops,” Carmilla says sheepishly.

 

On their way out, Carmilla stops to offer a nervous Kirsch her condolences, and Laura gives him a hug and a promise they’ll hang out more often.

“Did you really want something stronger to drink?” Laura asks.  “I thought alcohol triggers your time traveling.”

“It, uh, does if I drink copious amounts of it,” Carmilla mumbles.

Laura frowns and they stop walking.  “How about we go back to my place? I have some beers in my fridge and if they make you travel, at least we know you’ll reappear some place safe?”

Carmilla doesn’t reply and fixates on a spot on the ground.

 

“Carm,” Laura says softly.  “There’s nothing to be ashamed about.  I know exactly everything you’ve done in your past.  All the good parts and the bad. And I know exactly what I’m getting into by spending time with you.  I’ve spent a very large part of my life listening to you talk about your triggers and where your limits are.  I promise, nothing that you’ve got in your past—or your future—is gonna make me feel ‘disillusioned’ or freaked out or turned off.”

Carmilla looks up and there are tears in her eyes.

“But also if you don’t feel comfortable coming to my place, that’s fine,” Laura quickly starts rambling.  “I mean you did just meet me for like, the fifth time—fourth if we count both dat…hangouts today as one—so I’m essentially a stranger inviting you into her home--”

 

“Laura,” Carmilla interrupts with a sobbed chuckle.  “Please stop talking.” She wipes some of her tears away.  “We can do that. We can go back to your place. Please.”

Laura giggles nervously.  “Okay. Cool.”

 

They walk to Laura’s apartment in an awkward silence and Carmilla awkwardly stands in her living room as Laura get a few beers from the fridge.  Carmilla chugs half the bottle before Laura even gets a sip from hers.

“Better?” Laura asks around a laugh.  She takes a swig from her bottle.

“Much,” Carmilla says, finishing her bottle and opening another.  “I think… Maybe I don’t feel like sharing you right now.”

Laura narrows her eyes playfully.  “That’d be more flattering if it didn’t make me sound like a canapé.”  She nudges Carmilla lightly. “ _ There’s _ the flirty Carm I know.  Breakin’ hearts, takin’ names.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “If I crossed a line, you could’ve just said something.”

“No, no,” Laura replies.  “There is a total absence of line-crossing.  I swear.”

 

Carmilla plays with the neck of the bottle and watches as Laura drinks more of her first beer.

“What you said back there… It means the world to me,” Carmilla admits softly.

Laura continues to sip from her bottle, letting Carmilla speak.

“I mean, yeah, I’ve had Mattie to help me out and be like an older sister to me.  But it’s different with you. There’s just… there’s something about you.”

Carmilla shakes her head and takes a large swig.

 

“It’s like coming home and feeling like myself in a way I don’t think I ever have before,” she says.  “I feel like I’ve never  _ not _ been afraid—not since I traveled for the first time.  And I just came to accept that.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Laura finally replies.

“That’s just how it’s been,” Carmilla says with a sad shrug.  “It’s what I’ve had to do to survive every time I travel and every time I come back and… I’ve just  _ had _ to accept it.”

Laura shakes her head.  “ So, maybe that’s just how it is, but that does not mean that I have to accept it.  You deserve better.  You always have.  You always will.”

 

Carmilla looks at her, eyes soft.

For the first time, Laura sees the Carmilla she’s known for most of her life.  The Carmilla who hid nothing from her, who felt open and seen and valid.

“Hey,” Laura says.

“Hey,” Carmilla says back.  There’s something else in her eyes, a question.  “May I kiss you?” she asks, barely above a whisper.

Laura nods with a smile.

And then she leans forward, pausing halfway.

 

Carmilla meets her in the middle and their lips graze at first.  She deepens the kiss and so does Laura, and it feels like warm electricity and a sea of happiness and home crashing together.

Another feeling kicks in, but she revels in the kiss, using all her willpower to focus on Laura.

When Laura opens her eyes, Carmilla’s gone.

 

Just a pile of clothes before her.

 

Laura laughs softly and shakes her head.  “At least that was worth the wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all I have 100% ready for you guys right now! Next update will be in a week ;)  
> Once again, for those of you who know the original The Time Traveler's Wife, it wasn't exactly happy, so-- If you've read my stuff before, you know it will be loads fluffier. But if you're new here..... trust me :D  
> In the meantime, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback below or over yonder on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Happy Holidays, creampuffs!


	6. The Freak-Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla's travels lead her to seeing her future with Laura, only to travel back to find she's been gone for months and landed in the middle of Laura's birthday celebration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, creampuffs! Dropping three chapters this time <3

**March 2018**

 

Carmilla appears in a brisk autumn afternoon, and it takes her a few seconds for her mind to adjust from kissing Laura to realize she’s standing on someone’s front porch.

“Dammit,” Carmilla curses.

“You look cold,” a slightly familiar voice says from a doorway behind her.  “Wanna come in before we get arrested for public indecency? Again?”

Carmilla turns to find a future version of herself smirking at her.  She quickly runs past her through the front door and into a warm household.

“Laura, can you throw down a set of my  _ finest _ pajamas?” Future Carmilla calls out.

There’s a pause before footsteps are heard and an older Laura descends from upstairs.  “How lazy do you have to be to go downstairs naked and then--”

Future Laura stops and stares at the two Carmillas before her.

“Oh.  Oops.”

She hands a pile of clothes to Carmilla with a nervous laugh.

“Couldn’t have given me a heads up?” she growls at Future Carmilla.

“Ah, but where would be the fun in that?  We would’ve missed out on the blush and everything.”

Future Laura rolls her eyes.  “You suck.”

“What’s the big deal?  You were on your way down, anyway.”

 

Carmilla watches them bicker as she puts on her clothes.

“So, you’re in March 2018.  When are you from?” Future Laura asks with a yawn as she heads to the kitchen.

“2012,” Carmilla answers, following the couple.

Future Laura frowns as she hands her a mug filled with coffee, already made by Future Carmilla. “What part of 2012?”

Carmilla fidgets nervously and starts sipping her coffee.  “We just went to the frat party...”

“Ah, the first time I stuck my tongue in your mouth,” Future Carmilla says when Laura hands her her mug.

Carmilla chokes on hers and mumbles a “thank you” when Future Laura laughs and hands her a napkin.

 

“For the record, this is what you have to look forward to in five years,” Future Laura grumbles as she pours herself coffee in a third cup.

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “So… in six years… we’re still together?”

Future Laura hums and nods as she takes a sip.  “Yeah, uh, I’m not really going anywhere, Carm. I’m by your side for good.”  She shrugs. “Can’t scare me away with all your brooding and snarkiness.”

Carmilla swallows hard and doesn’t reply.

Future Carmilla chuckles.  “Calm down, Hollis. Let a girl finish basking in a first kiss.”

 

Laura grins and playfully nudges Future Carmilla.  “It  _ was _ a pretty awesome kiss, wasn’t it?”

Future Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “Smug.”

Future Laura gasps, offended.  “Hypocritical.”

“Superior,” Future Carmilla fires back.

“Delusional,” Future Laura replies.

Future Carmilla looks at her past self.  “See what you have to look forward to?”

Future Laura lightly smacks her on the arm.  “You love me.”

“Yeah, spaz.  But you love me, too.  So, who’s the real winner here?”

“ _ You _ are,” Future Laura replies with a smirk.

Future Carmilla huffs as Future Laura kisses her sweetly on the cheek.  “Yeah. I am.” She smiles at her past self. “See you soon.”

 

Carmilla vanishes from sight and Future Laura giggles.  “Did I do a good enough job freaking Past You out like you asked?”

Future Carmilla gives her a peck on the lips.  “Maybe  _ too _ well, my sneaky little cupcake.”

 

* * *

 

**January 2013**

 

“—So then I said, ‘dad, I’m almost 22 years old! …Of COURSE I want a  _ Doctor Who _ -themed--‘” Laura lets out a yelp when she turns a corner and collides right into Carmilla—a  _ naked _ Carmilla.

“ _ Hollis?  You okay? _ ”

Laura clears her throat.  “Yeah, Danny. Carm just reappeared.”

“ _ Holy shit _ .”

“Yeeeeah.  I’ll call you back,” Laura rushes out, walking towards a pile of clothes to hand to a frazzled-looking Carmilla.  “Welcome back.”

 

Carmilla takes the clothes gratefully and puts the t-shirt on, trying not to fumble with it even though Laura’s chivalrously turned away to avert her eyes.  She frowns after she puts on some sweatpants. “Whoa, your hair’s grown a lot. H-How long have I been gone?”

“Uhmmm... a while,” Laura mumbles.

Carmilla taps her shoulder to show her she’s done putting on the clothes.  “How long is ‘a while?’”

Laura chews her lip nervously.  “Uhm. It’s… mid-January.”

 

Carmilla’s mouth drops open.  “I’ve… I’ve been gone three months?”

Laura nods slowly and gives a weak chuckle.  “Happy belated Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s?”

“This hasn’t happened in a while,” Carmilla murmurs, sitting down on Laura’s couch in shock.

“Take your time,” Laura says carefully.  “When did you go this time?”

Carmilla starts to open her mouth but shakes her head.  “It’s not important.”

Laura frowns.  “Of course it’s--”

“Stop prying!  God  _ damnit _ ,” Carmilla snaps, making Laura flinch.

 

The doorbell rings and Laura hovers for a moment before letting out a small sigh and going to answer it.

“ _ Happy birthday, sweetie! _ ” a man’s voice shouts gleefully from the doorway. 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “Shit.”

“Thanks, dad,” Laura replies warmly, stepping aside, adding to Carmilla’s mortification.

He walks past her and puts down two large shopping bags, before startling a bit at seeing Carmilla standing there.

“Oh!  And here I was thinking I’d be the first guest here.  You didn’t tell me Carmilla was gonna be here this year!”

Carmilla looks at him confusedly.

“Uhm, dad…”  Laura stands between him and Carmilla.  “This isn’t a Carmilla that’s traveled back in time.  This is a present-day Carmilla. Who’s only met me a few times.  And has no idea how we would know when she shows up, yet.”

Papa Hollis forms a small surprised “o” with his mouth.  His demeanor warms up even more with a wide grin.  _ Now I see where Laura gets that from _ , Carmilla thinks.

 

“Well, nice to formally meet you, Carmilla! In your timeline, anyway. I’m Sherman,” he says, sticking out his hand.

She stares at it apprehensively before shaking it.

“Nice to meet you,” she mumbles.

“How nice of you to come to Laura’s birthday after just meeting her,” Sherman says.  “Must’ve been recent since I didn’t hear about you during Thanksgiving or at Christmas or New Year’s,” he adds pointedly to Laura.

Carmilla clears her throat awkwardly.  “I, uhh…”

 

The doorbell rings again and Laura steps towards her father.  “Dad, can you please let my friends in as they come and help everyone get settled in?  I need to talk to Carm alone for a sec.”

He tries to figure out his daughter’s weirdness for a moment before giving up and nodding, heading for the front door.

Laura gently guides Carmilla through the kitchen and onto a small balcony.

 

“Sorry, I know this is a lot,” Laura apologizes.

Carmilla shrugs.

“I’m gathering you don’t want to talk to my friends and dad about when you’ve been for the past few months,” Laura says gently.  “So if you wanna go be alone, you don’t have to stay for my birthday party.”

There’s a growing buzz from within and the three redheads Carmilla had met at the park begin decorating the apartment.

“But if you wanna stay coz it might take your mind off things, I’d like you to be here,” Laura admits shyly.

Carmilla isn’t quite sure what she wants or thinks.  The visit to the future was a lot, and coming back to find out she’d missed a bunch of major holidays, only to be dumped in the middle of Laura’s birthday celebration wasn’t helping things.

But maybe having Laura be surrounded by other people and taking her focus off Carmilla  _ would _ help things.

Carmilla shrugs again.  “Sure. Why not?”

 

Laura frowns a bit at the lack of enthusiasm but seems to not let it bother her.

They head back inside and Laura giggles at the  _ Doctor Who _ -themed decorations.

There are streamers that have different Whovian alien paper cut-outs attached to them.  Themed cups, plates, and napkins are already laid out, as well as chips. Trays of frosting-decorated cookies of Daleks, Cybermen, and the TARDIS are placed around the room.

And everyone is wearing some sort of graphic t-shirt with either the logo for the show, or characters’ faces.

Now that Carmilla is slightly over the shock of her time displacement, she realizes Laura was wearing one already.  And that she’s apparently also wearing one too, from what Laura handed her earlier.

“I gave your corset to Mattie for her to bring back to your apartment,” Laura says when she notices Carmilla examining her shirt, handing Carmilla a cup of soda and a plate of chips.  “Didn’t wanna take a chance with my clumsiness and do something like trip and spill hot cocoa all over it.”

Carmilla hums and sips from the cup.  “Thanks.”

 

“I, uh, promise the fact that you’re in a  _ Doctor Who _ shirt is a coincidence,” Laura says around a bite of cookie.  “You can change out of it if you want.”

“And stick out even more?” Carmilla says, referring to the fact that, in spite of the buzz of conversation around them, all eyes seemed to be fixed on them.

Laura checks the room.  “Ah, they’re probably just… staring at the birthday girl.”

_ Shit. _

“Right,” Carmilla replies lamely, feeling like a self-absorbed idiot.  “Sorry. And sorry I didn’t get you anything.”

Laura laughs.  “You came back after being gone for three months to who-knows-when.  Best present ever!”

Carmilla freezes a bit at that and goes back to drinking from her cup, watching as Laura deflates a bit.

 

“Carm, I promise, you can go if you’re feeling overwhelmed,” Laura says sweetly.

“And ruin your _ best present ever _ ?” Carmilla snarls, a little too sharply and loudly.

The conversation around the room pauses before forcibly starting again.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Laura says sadly.  “I just meant it was nice to--”

“‘Nice?’”  Carmilla scoffs.  “Nothing about my  _ disease _ is  _ nice _ .  Stop pretending like anything you do to normalizes it is actually fixing anything.”

Laura pouts.  “At least I’m trying to do  _ something. _ ”

“Oh, are you trying your very best? Because, I’m sure if you stay pure of heart and really believe that, that’ll make a difference,” Carmilla mocks.

Laura visibly goes from sad to outright upset.  “Well, it’s better than snapping at me and pretending to be all cool and disaffected, when really you’re just scared you’ll be alone.”

 

Carmilla stares at her, eyes watering.  Laura really  _ did _ know her.  She had the underlying problem figured out before  _ she _ did.

And that terrified her.

 

“And do you really think you’re doing a lick of actual good?  Do you think I feel any less alone than I did before I met you?”

The conversation around them has ceased for good, now.  Carmilla feels like she’s burning from the inside out and has no idea how to put out the fire so, in an enraged panic she continues her tirade.

“You understand nothing.  Not about life.  Not about me.  And certainly not about what it takes to survive in a world that - you know what?”  She stands and shakes her head.  “The sooner you stop playing like we’re soulmates destined to be together, the better off you’ll be.”

 

Laura blinks at her, tears streaming down her face as she also stands.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, just because you claim you’ve known me most of your life doesn’t mean we’re meant to spend the rest of it together,” Carmilla blurts out.

Laura stammers.  “I-I… Who said anything about us spending the rest of our lives together?  You clearly barely think of me as a friend even though the last time we saw each other we had our first kiss, so--”

“—So I think you kissed some romantic ideal you’ve made up in your head,” Carmilla interrupts.

Now Laura’s angry.

 

“I spent… YEARS… being told that Carmilla Karnstein was someone I made up in my head,” Laura growls, her voice cracking with emotion and pain.  “And, what? Now you’re saying the same thing? That the lady who visited me my whole life is just some woman who wants nothing to do with me because her chrono-impairments makes her all detached from any meaningful connections?”

Carmilla swallows hard.  “That’s who I am, Laura.”

Laura shakes her head.  “I don’t believe that. Not for a second.”

“Believe what you want,” Carmilla scoffs, pushing past her and heading for the door.  ”I’m done.”

Laura stands behind, dumbfounded before it hits her what’s happening. “Carm!”  She starts to run after her, but Carmilla’s already gone from the corridor.  “Please, Carm!” she cries out the doorway before stepping back inside with a sniffle.

 

Danny and Sherman both step forward, leaving enough space behind Laura so as not to crowd her.

“Well,” Kirsch says, taking a crunchy bite out of a chip, “at least she didn’t steal anyone’s clothes or beat them up this time?”

 

* * *

 

Carmilla doesn’t know where she’s going or why she didn’t think to grab a coat before she stormed out, but the tears blurring her vision hadn’t really let her care about much else.

She doesn’t even know how long she’s been walking or how far she’s gone before she sits down on a random park bench.

_ Good going, Karnstein _ .   _ Not only have you completely destroyed the only person to ever truly get you and be willing to put up with you, but now you’re gonna freeze to death on a random park bench in January _ .

 

_ All because the notion of a future with someone never seemed like a possibility... but now that it is, you’re scared.  Terrified. _

 

She sits there shaking, turning numb, and wallowing for quite some time until a familiar voice approaches her.

“Hey.”

Carmilla stares up.  “Wow, the hallucinations from hypothermia started quick this time.”

A soft chuckle makes its way to Carmilla’s ears before a heavy, warm coat is thrown on top of her.  “You’re an idiot.”

Laura sits down next to Carmilla, wrapped in a warm coat of her own.  She holds out a slice of cake, fresh enough that steam is rising from it.  She also hands her a pair of gloves and a fork.

“Saved you some.  Idiot.”

Carmilla chuckles and takes the gloves and then the fork before sheepishly taking the cake.  “Uhm. Thanks.”

 

“Anything else you’d like to say?” Laura says pointedly.

Carmilla averts her gaze and pokes at the cake. It’s soft and warm.

_ Like Laura _ .

“Let’s go to my toasty car,” Laura huffs, holding out a hand for Carmilla to take.

Carmilla stares at it in surprise but takes it and follows Laura to the car.  By the time she slides into the passenger’s seat, she’s finished about half the cake.

 

“Okay.  I’m gonna guess what happened.  Back in October, we kissed. And maybe, you really liked me.  Maybe more than you realized. So you were nervous. And the anxiety made you time-displaced.  Into the future,” Laura tries, turning up the heat more when she sees Carmilla’s hands are still shaking.  “And whatever time you went to, it was in the future, and we’re still together. And it scared the hell out of you.  Because you’ve always treated your entire life as if it were filled with temporary, fleeting things, except for Mattie. And meeting me is messing with the way you’ve lived your whole life.”

Carmilla remains silent.

“So then you started to panic and that completely threw you off on your return, and you come back to find you’ve missed three months.  And landed right as my birthday celebration started,” Laura continues patiently. “And now you’re surrounded by my friends and family who know all about you, but I’m just some girl you’ve kissed once and aren’t even sure you like.  And you get scared and feel like you’re suffocating. Like you’re drowning in time. So you lash out and run away. And stupidly almost freeze to death.” She raises an eyebrow. “That about right?”

 

Carmilla takes a deep breath and plays with the fork between her fingers, having finished the cake.  “Mostly.” She lets out a long sigh. “I  _ do _ like you.  A lot. No maybes.”  She runs her free hand through her hair.  “And our first kiss was amazing. Y’know,  _ so _ amazing that it displaced me in time.  Technically twice.”

She chuckles and Laura gives her a smug grin.

“It’s just...”  Carmilla scoffs and sadly shakes her head.  “I’m just a ghost, Laura.”

Laura cocks her head to the side, confused.

 

Carmilla fidgets a bit.  “I’ve spent my whole life knowing everything I have is temporary.  Every friendship and relationship had an expiration date because eventually they’d get fed up with my flakiness and unpredictability.  Even family. Except for Mattie, and she doesn’t count for obvious reasons.” She sighs. “And then you come along. You already know me.  You’re already used to me disappearing and waiting for me. And… you  _ get _ me.  More than  _ I _ get me.  Hell, you already figured out that I traveled to the future and saw us together and realized you’re  _ not _ temporary.  For the first time, I have someone who’s not going anywhere.  Who’s not just  _ waiting for me _ , but who’s by my side, tackling life with me, making jokes and…”

_ Loving me _ .

“…And I panicked,” Carmilla says, swallowing hard.  “And I got back here to find out I’d left the girl I had an amazing first kiss with hanging for three months.  But she wasn’t upset and just invited me to this adorable birthday party with her friends and family, who also weren’t upset I flaked out on you for months.”

Her voice cracks and she sniffles.

“And I’m terrified coz I don’t want the girl I like to wake up one day and realize she’s wasted her whole life waiting for a ghost.”

 

Laura looks at Carmilla for a long time, watching as tears stream down her face.

She finally reaches out and wipes away a tear.

“Hmm, would you look at that,” Laura says softly.  “I  _ can _ touch you.  Guess you’re not a ghost, after all.  Or, if you are, you’re a real crappy one.”

 

Carmilla lets out a sobbed laugh.  “Dork.”

Laura giggles and reaches into the glove compartment to hand Carmilla a box of tissues.

“Carm, you’re right.  I’ve spent a lot of my life waiting for you to pop up again in my life.  And, for most of that time, I’ve dreamed of our lives running parallel. But you know how much of that time was spent feeling like I was wasting it?”

Laura offers Carmilla a warm smile.

“None of it.  None of my life has ever felt wasted because the time I got to spend with you has always felt more fulfilling than the moments without you.  If you’re scared, tha-that’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared. You’re allowed to not feel how I feel. You’re allowed to never feel how I feel,” she continues gently.  “But you’re not allowed to run off into the cold and freeze to death on the park bench we sat on during our first date.”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  She hadn’t even realized that’s where she wound up.

“Look, I know the universe just threw a lot at you at once,” Laura says slowly.  “So why don’t we just take this one step at a time? Whatever you saw in the future, that’s in the  _ future _ .  We’re not there yet.  That’s okay. We can just be two gals who shared their first kiss.”

Carmilla nods, a small smile forming.  “You sure you don’t want more from me right now?”

Laura gives a small laugh.  “I promise. We’ll take this whatever pace you want to.”

Carmilla reaches out and takes Laura’s hand.  “Thank you,” she whispers like a prayer. “It’s kinda weird to have something in my life that doesn’t feel like it’ll evaporate any second.”

Laura grins at her.

 

“Can we kiss again?” Carmilla asks shyly.

“Depends.  Are you gonna disappear on me for another three months?” Laura asks with a smirk.

Carmilla pouts at her.

Laura laughs louder.  “Yes, silly.”

Carmilla leans forward and Laura meets her in the middle, capturing her lips and giggling when Carmilla deepens it before pulling away.

“I’m, uh, really happy we had this talk,” Carmilla she admits sheepishly.  “I was really freaked out.”

“You’re also possibly still drunk from three months ago,” Laura teases.  “Man, whatever you saw must’ve really done a number on you.”

 

Carmilla chuckles.  “Actually, it’s kinda funny. Future You totally said all the wrong things.  The complete opposite of you now.”

Laura looks at her skeptically before something occurs to her.  “Carm… Did it occur to you maybe Future Me…”

Carmilla physically recoils at the realization. “…Freaked me out on purpose so we’d have this conversation?”

Laura presses her lips together in a thin line and gives her an innocent, wide-eyed look.

“You sneaky little cupcake,” Carmilla says with a laugh.

“Yeah, but I’m your sneaky little cupcake,” Laura says, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Carmilla grins.  She definitely was the winner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	7. The Bully

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Laura gets some help from Carmilla about how to deal with a bully at school.

**February 1999**

 

Carmilla squints against sunlight beaming in through a window, shining right on her face.  The last thing she remembered, she’d dozed off on Laura’s couch while they were binge watching  _ Doctor Who _ , which Carmilla had grumbled was a little too on-the-nose but her protests had gone ignored, accompanied by the sound of Laura’s light snoring.

And now she’s apparently traveled back to young Laura’s attic in who-knows-what-year.

 

“Are you gonna keep flashing all my neighbors?” a little bossy voice demands from behind Carmilla.

She whirls with a smirk to find Laura from roughly the same age as the last time she traveled back.  Clearly, it’s the winter because there’s some snow on the ground and Laura is wearing a thick, oversized long-sleeved sweater.  So far, regardless of the time or season, if Laura didn’t have a coat on, she was in a t-shirt or a tank top.

Laura hands her some clothes and turns as Carmilla puts them on.

“Uhm, how old are you?” Carmilla asks when she’s done.

“Eight.”

Carmilla hums in response.  “Have we had a picnic together yet?”

Laura shakes her head no and starts walking out of the room and down some stairs.  She leads Carmilla down a hallway and into what Carmilla assumes is her bedroom. There’s a poster from the second season of  _ Buffy _ on the wall.  “The last time I saw you, you left me this.”  She holds up a note.

 

“What is it?” Carmilla asks with a frown.

“It told me the next couple times I’d see you, and that the first would be today, ” Laura replies.  “You said you got dates from—”

Carmilla clamps her hand over Laura’s mouth.  “Ah! Spoilers.”

Laura huffs.  “Ahhat wen yoo sey that,” she says, muffled.  Carmilla chuckles and removes her hand. “Then we watched some TV and you disappeared.  This was like, over a year ago. Super nice of you.”

Carmilla frowns at the tone.  “You do know I can’t control when I come back to you, right?”

Laura crosses her arms.  “Yeah. Whatever.”

 

Carmilla’s frown deepens.  “What’s with you?” she asks, trying to keep the edge from her voice and going for a concerned tone instead.

Laura shrugs and walks away.  “A lot can happen in a year.” She pauses in the hallway as Carmilla lets out a sigh and follows her.  “I’m sorry,” Laura finally says. “I shouldn’t be snapping at my best friend. Especially not over something tha—especially at you.”

 

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together, her worry growing.  “Laura.”

Laura dejectedly heads to the stairs down to the living room and something occurs to Carmilla.  But she has to approach the subject carefully.

“Where’s your dad?” she tries.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Laura mumbles, descending.

Carmilla joins her in the living room.

“I’ve been gone a year,” Carmilla says slowly, scanning the room.  “And I have it on good authority that something pretty major happened… in November.”

The image of a young Laura, but older than the girl in front of her, kneeling at her mother’s grave during the anniversary of her death, with sandwiches and cupcakes, flashes through her mind.

 

Laura crosses her arms and starts to walk off.  Carmilla reaches out to gently grab Laura by the arm, just to stop her, but Laura lets out a loud yelp.

“Shit!  Sorry!” Carmilla apologizes, eyes wide as she immediately steps away from Laura with her hands in the air.  “Fuck, shouldn’t have cursed, either.”

Laura holds her arm and winces.  “It’s fine.”

Carmilla narrows her eyes in suspicion.  “Okay, I haven’t known you that long, but you’re pretty much always in t-shirts or tank tops.  You’re wearing long sleeves right now that go past your hands. What gives?”

 

Laura swallows hard and reluctantly rolls up her sleeves, revealing her bare arms covered with scrapes and her hand with bruises.

Carmilla sucks in a breath, unsure of how else to react.

“You should see the other guy,” Laura giggles nervously.

“What happened?” Carmilla asks gently.

Laura lets out a long sigh and sits down on the couch, taking the sweater off to reveal a Spice Girls t-shirt underneath.

 

“My mom… died… in November,” Laura says softly, her voice cracking.

“And I wasn’t here for you,” Carmilla surmises, having realized that’s why Laura was so upset that Carmilla hadn’t come back to her in a year.

Laura nods with a sniffle.  “Which I know you can’t control and it was dumb to get mad at you and I’m really, really sorry.”

Carmilla shakes her head.  “No need to apologize, cutie.  I’m sorry about your mom. Do you want to talk about it?”

Laura looks at her, eyes wide and welling up.

 

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Laura sobs.  “My dad mentioned something about blood thinners and she once told me she has something called… rheumatic heart disease.”  Tears roll down her face, her choked words coming out in hiccups. “She’s gone and I don’t even understand why or how.”

 

Carmilla opens her arms and Laura dives in, crying into Carmilla’s chest without restraint.  For the first time, it occurs to Carmilla how small Laura really is. Carmilla squeezes her tightly and kisses the top of her head, feeling Laura curling in tighter.

“I don’t have any answers for you,” Carmilla whispers.  “But I am so, so sorry, Laura. I’m sorry you lost your mom and I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

“It’s okay,” Laura manages to mumble through her voice cracking.

Carmilla holds her for a while longer until Laura slowly calms down a bit and her breathing returns to normal.  She eventually lets go when Laura pulls out of the embrace with a small grateful smile.

 

“Laura… this doesn’t answer what happened to your arms and hands,” Carmilla points out gently, holding Laura’s hands in hers.

Laura lets out a shaky breath.  “It was dumb.”

Carmilla gives her a look to continue anyway.

“There’s this girl who picks on me at school.  Usually for stupid things like being short or being a geek or eating salads… But the other day she started teasing about not having a… a mom…”  Her voice cracks again and she clears her throat. “She showed me a picture of her birthday party and then pointed to her mom and told me moms are supposed to be at their kids’ birthday parties, so my last birthday party didn’t count.  And none of mine will ever count again so I’ll be stuck tiny forever.”

Carmilla’s mouth drops open.  She knew all too well that kids could be cruel, but it still hurt to hear Laura go through something so awful.

 

“So I got mad and I tackled her but we were at the top of a hill and fell down it and I scraped up my hands and arms trying to break my fall,” Laura continues.  “I mean, my dad has me taking krav maga classes, but those are supposed to be more for self defense-- not for attacking people. And I feel so bad now coz all I can hear is my mom’s voice telling me that anger and violence wasn’t the answer and…”  Her words get stuck in a choked sob. “…She’d be so ashamed of me.” 

She starts sobbing, harder this time.

Carmilla feels her heart breaking as she watches this small girl shatter before her, and shakes her head.  She takes a deep breath.  _ Time for some tough love.   _ “Alright, just stop all of this before I get queasy.”

Laura stares at her, clearly taken aback by these words.

Carmilla softens her tone.  “Cupcake, you are ridiculous and headstrong, and naive, and this whole  _ Doctor Who _ companion gig is doomed, okay?  But unless you’re going around breaking and entering into homes or stealing things, nothing that’s happening right now is something your mom would be ashamed of.”

“Really?” Laura asks around a sniffle.

“Yeah,” Carmilla says with a small nod.  “My dad would’ve been ashamed of me, and my mom definitely is, so… yeah.”

 

Laura cocks her head to the side, confused.

“My dad died when I was five years old,” Carmilla says, her voice low.  “I was in a car with him and it crashed and… I traveled. For the first time.”  She swallows hard. She’d never spoken to anyone about it before—not even her mother—and certainly had never entertained speaking about it so openly and candidly.  “And after that, I traveled a lot. Pretty much in my own timeline, and into the future, when an older version of me could teach me how to survive. How to break and enter, and steal things, what have you.”

Laura watches as Carmilla speaks, her sniffling and sobs dying down.

“Then one day, when I was… I’d say eighteen or nineteen… I’d already spent about a dozen years picking fights in school and doing everything I could to show the world how angry I was with it. My mom threw me out in 2007 when I was seventeen after a huge fight and I never went back, so I was at rock bottom… And I traveled back to when I was about three years old.  Bumped right into my dad. Right after I’d stolen some booze and drunkenly tried to break into a house. My own house.”

“Oh.  Gosh.”  Laura’s eyes widen.

Carmilla nods.  “Apparently he had chrono-impairment, too.  But it was to a way lesser degree. Just like my friend Mattie.  They only travel under extreme stress or emotional situations. So he never really had to do the things I’ve had to do.”

 

“What did you do?” Laura asks.

“I looked him in the eyes… And I think he knew who I was.  But that wasn’t what got me” Carmilla gives Laura a sad smile.  “All I saw was someone who felt pity and shame for me.” She chuckles dryly.  “I’d always seen that look from my mom—a way more angry version, but definitely a deep shame.  But never from him.”

She gives Laura a pat on the leg.

“So, chin up, buttercup.  You’re an amazing lil gal, and I promise your mom would not be ashamed of you.”

Laura looks visibly relieved.  “Cross your heart and…” She cuts herself off and clears her throat.   “Carmilla, I know I don’t know you, like,  _ that _ well… But I think you’re alright.  Your dad wouldn’t be ashamed of you.”  She dives forward and squeezes Carmilla as tightly as possible.  “He was probably just, y’know, pitying someone who broke into his house when they already had the key.”

 

Laura lets out a giggle and Carmilla chuckles.

“Yeah, sure.  That’s it.”

Laura grins and pulls away.  “Thanks, Carmilla.”

“Anytime, cutie, Plus, I’ve got my own experiences being bullied.  I know how badly it can suck. Especially when you’ve got a dead parent.”

Laura’s mouth drops open.  “Really? You were bullied, too?”

Carmilla laughs wryly.  “Being in the car accident and finding out I could time travel really messed me up and I got held back a year.  Plenty of material for bullies to use on me.”

“That sucks,” Laura replies.

“Just remember that bullies come and go.  But the strength you get from overcoming it?  That lasts forever.”

Laura nods, clearly trying to internalize this lesson.

Carmilla frowns. “So who is this bully, anyway?  Maybe I can make sure you never see them again.”

“Ugh, she’s the worst,” Laura laments.  “Her name is Danny, and--”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “Danny  _ Lawrence _ ?”

Laura narrows her eyes.  “Uh. Yeah. Why?”

Before Carmilla can say anything, she begins to disappear.  Within a few seconds, Laura is looking down confusedly at a pile of clothes.

“Dang it, how the heck does she know who Danny Lawrence is?”

 

* * *

 

**February 2013**

 

Laura rubs her eyes sleepily as she pours herself coffee into her TARDIS mug.

“ _ Tell me you made enough for two, _ ” a voice grumbles from the doorway.

Laura laughs as she points at a hoodie and sweatpants on a chair.  She pulls out a second mug and begins filling it up, too. “Always do.”

Carmilla, after happily wrapping her arms around herself in her hoodie, grins gratefully as she takes it from Laura.

“Also, wow, you didn’t disappear for three months this time,” Laura comments before taking a sip of her coffee.  “Just, like, a week.”

Carmilla frowns.  “That still means you waited for me for a week.”

Laura shrugs and gives her a reassuring pat.  “You’re worth waiting for.”

She walks into the living room and sits cross-legged on their couch, watching as Carmilla sits beside her.

 

“When did you go?” Laura finally asks, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Carmilla smirks.  “So… About Danny Lawrence...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	8. The Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie and Laura meet, and Carmilla watches as the two important people in her life try to interact peacefully.

**February 2013**

 

“...and then Laura told me that everything that got them from ‘Danny bullying her’ to Danny and her becoming friends is a spoiler, so--”

Mattie lets out an over-dramatic, emphasized yawn and laughs when Carmilla pouts at her from beside the circulation desk.  “Darling, it’s adorable to see you gush over this girl. But, come on. How long could this possibly last?”

Carmilla’s pout grows.  “I really like her, Mattie,” she mumbles, scanning some books that a patron has handed her.

“That I can tell, my dear,” Mattie says. “But once again, I ask-- how long could this la--”

 

“Hey!” a voice greets as the previous patron steps off the line.

Carmilla’s pout completely vanishes as soon as she sees Laura and a warm smile grows.  “Hey.”

“So I know we said we’d do a quiet evening, but Kirsch told me his band is performing at this bar tonight,” Laura begins.  “And it’s totally okay if you don’t wanna go--”

“We can go,” Carmilla replies.

Mattie stares at her.  “Who are you and what have you done with Carmilla Karnstein?”

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a glare.  “What? I can go out and do things.”

“Since  _ when _ ?” Mattie cackles.  “You’re always all, ‘ _ what if I vanish in public?  What if YOU vanish in public?  What will I do if I vanish and come back naked days later?  What if we BOTH vanish at the same time? _ ’” she mocks.

“But I thought you had that locket thingy that keeps you from time-displacing,” Laura points out.

 

Mattie looks at her, bewildered.  “How the hell do you know that?”

Laura giggles nervously.  “Uhm… Carm told me. Well, Future Carm.”

Mattie lightly smacks Carmilla on the arm.

“Ow!  She just  _ said _ I haven’t done it yet,” Carmilla growls.

“Exactly.  Now whenever the time comes that you decide to, you’ll remember me hitting you,” Mattie snaps.

 

Carmilla rolls her eyes before turning her attention back to Laura.  “So where is this bar?”

“It’s right by campus, but it’s a little too pricey for students in general.  It’s called the Silas Sirens.”

“Isn’t that the bar you go to all the time?” Carmilla asks Mattie.

Mattie crosses her arms.  “Maybe.”

“That’s awesome!  All three of us can go tonight together?”

Mattie leans forward and glares Laura down.  “Let’s be clear. I was gonna be there tonight no matter what.  If you and Carm happen to also be there, it doesn’t mean we’ll be there together.”

Laura seems confused but shrugs it off.  “Ooookayyy. I’ll take that as a ‘yes!’”

Carmilla snorts.  “See you tonight after our shift, cupcake.  Have a nice time in class.”

Laura gives a cheery wave and darts out.

“She’d better not ruin my favorite bar for me,” Mattie grumbles.

 

* * *

 

“WHoOOOo!  Go Kirsch!” Laura yells after the band finishes up another song. She takes a sip of her fruity cocktail, while Carmilla takes one of her whisky.  Mattie doesn’t bother to hide her disdain as she takes a large gulp of wine.

“ _ We’ll be right back after a short break _ ,” Kirsch says into the mic.

He high-fives Laura as he stops by the bar, chugging down a cup of water she was watching after for him.

“You’re doing great,” she says to him.

He grins at her.  “Thanks again for coming, Laura.  You’re the best girl a guy could ever ask to dude-scort.”

Laura laughs at that and clinks her glass against his.  “Cheers to us!”

 

Mattie rolls her eyes and signals for a refill before just handing the bartender enough money for the entire bottle.

“You should probably get going back up there before I get so bored I beat you up again,” Carmilla deadpans.

“She’s joking,” Laura says with a playful glare.

Kirsch gulps. “Can’t take that chance!”  He runs back up on stage and the band begins another song.

 

“Be nice,” Laura chides lightly.

“Don’t tell her what to do,” Mattie snaps.

Carmilla frowns.  “Mattie, sh--”

“And don’t make excuses for her,” Mattie growls.  “We are gods with these powers and are above being nice to a neanderthal.”

Laura’s mouth drops open in offense.  “Kirsch is  _ not _ a--”

“You’re right.  He and the rest of you confined by the limits of time are lower than that,” Mattie interrupts.

 

Carmilla stands up from her bar stool.  “Mattie, that is  _ enough _ .”

Mattie blinks in surprise.  “What is so special about her?” she scoffs, looking a mix of aggravated and vaguely  impressed. “All I’ve seen so far is some irritating peanut who tells you what to do.”  She locks eyes with Laura. “All I see is a young child who’s enamored with a time traveler she’s apparently known her whole life. Someone who couldn’t possibly understand how the world actually works.  A girl who couldn’t understand how  _ our existence _ works.”

Carmilla sighs and speaks before Laura can argue.  “Yes, I know. And, yes, she’s … young, and, and naive, a-an-and entirely too trusting, but … Mattie, she knows me!  She knows my sad tale and the things I’ve done, and… and she hasn’t flinched away. It’s like … she can change the horrible story I live in.”  She looks down at the floor before chancing a glance at Laura. “And I know it-it’s foolish. I know, I know, I know it’s foolish. And I know it’s sentimental, but...”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t need someone to change your story, darling?” Mattie asks.  “This is someone who has their whole life ahead of them. Have you asked yourself what happens when one day she realizes she’s spent so much of her life waiting for you already?  And when she decides that she’s just stuck in one place, while you have the freedom to move about her? To leave her behind?”

 

“Carm wouldn’t leave me behind,” Laura finally says.

Mattie laughs ruefully.  “Child, didn’t she just leave you for three months?  And didn’t she leave you for years at a time before she even met you?”

“She always came back to me,” Laura points out.  “She’ll always come back to me. I don’t care if you both think it’s naive and young and trusting for me to believe that.”

Mattie lets out an exasperated sigh.

“And I will always wait for her, no matter what. Because even time travelers need a home to return to.  Or then they’re just lost and drifting.” Mattie tries to reply, but Laura talks over her. “Besides, if it’s so freeing having chrono-impairment… then why do you wear that locket to keep you from traveling?  If you’re so much better than me, then why don’t I just rip it off your neck and shatter it?”

Mattie shuts up and swallows hard.

“You’re jealous because this whole time, Carm has needed you.  As a mentor, as a sister, as a friend. And now she has someone else and you’re terrified that she, what?  Has found someone she’d find worthy to want to come back home to instead of using a friggin’ locket to keep her grounded?” Laura demands, looking away from Mattie and over to Carmilla.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Carmilla gives her a small smile, tears forming in her eyes.

Mattie stares at Laura for a long time.  The band’s song echoes in the space between them, having been pushed to background noise during this entire discussion.  It feels like this is the first time Mattie has really seen Laura all day and night.

“Fine!  Jeez. Didn’t have to get so dramatic about it,” Mattie finally says, pouring more wine into her glass.  “We’re lucky everyone around here started drinking way before we did and is hopefully too wasted to hear anything to you said, Blabbermouth.”

Laura and Carmilla share an amused look.

 

The band finishes their set for the night and Kirsch comes running over, clearly high from the performance.  “Laura! Laura! I want you to come meet the dudes!”

Laura laughs as he barely waits for an answer before turning and running back to his bandmates.  “I’ll be right back,” she says, giving Carmilla a peck on the cheek.

Carmilla tugs her back and manages to catch her lips for a kiss.  “Don’t keep me waiting too long, now.”

“I dunno.  Kinda nice to have you waiting on me for once,” Laura teases, giving her another kiss.  She grins and grabs her drink before heading off after Kirsch.

 

Carmilla chuckles and takes a swig of whiskey.  She watches as Laura quickly charms Kirsch’s bandmates and is promptly surrounded by laughter, including her own.

“I’m sorry, sis,” Mattie says softly.

Carmilla turns to face her, giving her an expectant look.

“Before this, all I could ask myself is… what makes her so special?”

“ What makes any person sacred to another? ” Carmilla muses.  “All I know is… in all these years of traveling, she really makes me feel like I’m home.”  She clears her throat. “Not that you don’t, but...”

 

“No, I get it,” Mattie sighs.  She swirls her drink, lost in thought.  “Remember when we tried getting you a locket like mine?  To ground you? And I told you it was meant to make you feel like you’d always have something to come back to.  So you wouldn’t end up adrift in time. But it never worked for you. And my biggest fear for some time now is that one day, you’d travel, and you’d never find something to bring you back to your present.”

Carmilla takes a small sip and nods.  It was her biggest fear, too.

“But I think it’s not a thing you needed.  It was  _ someone _ .  It was Laura,” Mattie admits.  “Laura’s your home. And I promise, sis… From here on out, if she makes you happy, then I’ll support it all the way.”

 

There’s some feedback before Laura’s voice comes on over the mic.

“ _ Helloooooo Silas Sirens!  The Zeta Bros Band has agreed to come back for an encore!  In a duet with me, Lauuuuura Hollis! Dedicating a song to one Carmilla Karnstein! _ ”

A musical intro starts, a bit of a dark jingle.

“ _ We could live forever, and suffer, _ ” Laura sings into the mic, her voice low.

Carmilla finds herself blushing as Laura makes direct eye contact with her.

“ _ Or die as one, together as lovers... _ ”

Mattie gives Carmilla a pointed look as the serenading continues.

“Well…  _ almost _ all the way,” she amends, making Carmilla chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently eyeballing for updates to be once a week, on Mondays! At least until I totally finish writing the story and feel comfortable posting more than one chapter a week without running outta updates for you guys or having to rush them.  
> Once again, for those of you who know the original The Time Traveler's Wife, it wasn't exactly a happy ending, but-- If you've read my stuff before, you know it will be loads cheerier. However, if you're new here..... trust me :D  
> In the meantime, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback here or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Happy New Year, creampuffs!


	9. The Strange Naked Crazy Lady in the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back in time, ending up naked in a park in broad daylight.

**May 1997**

 

Carmilla winces against the harsh, warm sunlight that’s suddenly beaming into her face.  It takes her a moment to realize she’s in a park. Luckily, she appeared behind some shrubbery but it’s only a matter of time before she’s spotted.

She has no idea where she is but the area seems vaguely familiar.  There’s no Laura waiting. There’s no pile of clothes anywhere in sight.

_ Shit.  I was hoping my days of stealing were behind me _ .

_ Not exactly the way I was hoping to spend the midnight into my twenty-third birthday. _

 

“... _ Stupid Danny, _ ” a young voice grumbles nearby.

Carmilla’s eyes widen at the sight of Laura, younger than she’s ever seen her, walking down the path past the bushes.

“ _ Sure, Danny. Let’s just let our teacher take all our money, Danny.  Dumb Danny. HAH. ‘Dumb Danny’ is waaaay meaner than ‘Loser Laura.’ _ ”

“Laura?” Carmilla whispers as Laura gets closer.  “Laura!”

The small girl jumps with a yelp and grabs her heart.  “Wh-Who’s there?”

“It’s Carmilla.”

“ _ Who _ ?” Laura asks, panicked.

_ Oh.  Fuck. _

 

“Have you ever met anyone named Carmilla Karnstein before?” Carmilla asks gently, still shrouded in the greenery.

“No,” Laura answers, her voice small but not afraid.

Instead, she steps towards Carmilla before she has a chance to stop Laura or react.

“Oh god!  Why are you  _ naked _ ?” Laura shrieks.  “Mommm--”

Without thinking, Carmilla lunges forward and clamps her hand over Laura’s mouth, muffling her scream.

 

“Laura, Laura!  I need you to calm down for a few seconds and let me explain, okay?  And then if you’re still scared, you can call for your mom.” Carmilla looks Laura in the eyes, pleading.  “Okay?”

Laura hesitates for a moment but seems convinced by Carmilla’s desperate look to give her a chance.  She gives a frantic but firm nod.

Carmilla slowly withdraws her hand.

“Uhm, excuse me.  But who the hell are you?”

“Carmilla.  I’m a time traveler from the future, sweetheart.”

 

Laura’s look of trepidation goes to one of exasperation.  “I’m six years old. Not stupid years old.”

Carmilla chuckles at that.  “I come from your future. A future where we’ve met quite a bunch of times,” she explains carefully.  “How else would I know that you live at 307 Spatula Ave and your parents’ names are Eileen and Sherman?”

“Maybe you’re a creepy stalker,” Laura fires back, making Carmilla laugh again.

“You’re quite the spunky little kid, y’know that?”

Laura crosses her arms.  “So why did you time travel here?  A park in the spring of 1997 is pretty lame.”

 

“I don’t get to pick and choose where or when I go,” Carmilla explains.  “Although this is the first time I’ve traveled back to you outside your house.”

“You’ve… been inside my house?”

Carmilla nods.  “Well, I suppose from your point of view, I  _ will _ be inside your house.  I usually pop up in your attic and you give me what I assume are some of your mom’s clothes to wear til I disappear again.”

“Lemme guess, you can’t control that, either.”

Carmilla shakes her head at that.  “Could be minutes, hours, days. One time it was weeks, but that was when I was really having problems with my condition as a teenager.”

“Aaaand why are you naked?” Laura asks, her trademark curiosity shining through.

“I can’t take anything with me when I travel,” Carmilla replies, stepping back to the sanctity of her hiding place.

 

Laura seems more or less satisfied with that answer.

“I know this probably sounds insane to you, but I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone.  Not even your mom and dad,” Carmilla says, her tone gentle but serious.

“How do you know I even believe you?  For all I know, you’re a crazy woman who likes hiding in bushes naked around parks, scaring children by knowing random facts about their lives,” Laura points out.

Carmilla looks at her.  “I’m not saying you believe me right now.  I’m saying I know you  _ will _ believe me and when you do, you can’t tell anyone.”

“Smug, much?” Laura grumbles.  She lets out a long sigh. “Wait here.”

 

Carmilla frowns as the tiny six year old marches away.

There are people and kids scattered throughout the park, and she prays to whatever deity is tasked with looking after her at the moment that none of them will find her.  All she needs is another unattended small child to strut down the path and see her.

A while passes and just as Carmilla considers the possibility that Laura was more of a prankster at this age and straight up left her there, she hears similar footsteps approach again.

“Here.”

 

Carmilla looks as Laura holds out a pile of clothes.  She takes it gratefully and starts getting dressed. “How’d you pull this one off?”

“I found my mom and we went home and I asked if I could borrow her clothes for a naked time traveler I found hiding in the bushes in the park,” Laura answers.

Carmilla stares at her, unable to read her expression.  “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.  Then she told me yes and be back before dinner.  I think she thought I was joking.”

“Laura… I told you, you can’t tell anyone about--”

“I can do whatever I want,” Laura declares with a huff.

Carmilla lets out a long sigh.  Even at this age, Laura was stubborn as hell.

 

“Fine, have it your way, sunshine.”  Carmilla steps out onto the pathway. “Thanks for the clothes, though.”

Laura crosses her arms. “Pay me back in information.”

Carmilla stifles some laughter.  Always was quite the journalist, apparently.  “Shoot.”

“Do you know me in the future?”

“Yes.”

Laura seems surprised Carmilla answered so quickly.  Then she narrows her eyes. “Wait, I don’t just mean my future.  Like we do we ever meet when we’re both old?”

“Spoilers.  Also, being old is subjective, hon.”

Laura stamps her foot.  “I asked for information!”

“And I just gave you some.  At least two solid pieces of information, in fact.”

“You’re annoying,” Laura grumbles, walking down the path.

Carmilla follows after her, now fully dressed.  “You’re pretty annoying too, y’know.”

 

“Then why are you  _ following _ me?” Laura demands.

“Well, when I disappear, the clothes stay behind.  You wanna go home to your mom without her clothes?” Carmilla points out.

Laura doesn’t answer but doesn’t seem like she’s about to scream to nearby strangers that a random woman is following her, either.

“What’s with you?” Carmilla asks.  “You were grumbling when you were walking towards the bushes and now you’re all brooding.  It’s my job to brood.”

“We can both brood,” Laura mumbles.  She sits down on a park bench and lets out a long sigh.  “I got into trouble at school and now everyone is making fun of me.”

 

Carmilla sits down beside the distraught six year old.

“I found out our teacher was taking money from the candy-selling fundraiser our class was running,” Laura explains, swinging her feet.  “And I took my mom’s camera and recorded him doing it and showed the principal the footage and the teacher got fired.”

“Why would kids make fun of you for that?”

Laura shrugs sadly.  “My friends think he’s funny and nice and now he’s gone and they blame me.”

“That sucks.”

“And then, before I found you, the reason I was in the park at all was this girl in my class had a birthday party.  But she and everyone else was making fun of me so… I left.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together.  “You left?”

Laura nods.

“Oh, come on, cupcake.  You, Laura Hollis, left because people were teasing you?”

Laura nods again, more sheepishly this time.

 

“Well, that just won’t do, will it?” She pats Laura’s leg.  “You’re  _ Laura Hollis _ .  You don’t take any crap from anyone.  These kids should be  _ thanking _ you for stopping this.  I mean, what was this fundraiser for?”

“People with heart disease,” Laura replies slowly.  “People like my mom.”

Carmilla swallows hard.  No wonder she was so upset and hurt by the teasing.  Before she can even think about what to say to Laura, something seems to click in the girl’s head.

 

“You know what?  You’re right. Why did I leave?  Just coz stupid Danny Lawrence called me a tattle-tale at her birthday party?  I got invited, I deserve to be there. I should girl the hell up, go back to that Spice Girls-themed party, and eat a slice of cake!”

Carmilla grins.  “That’s the Laura Hollis I know.”

Laura hesitates as she wrings her hands together.  “I wanna go to the party now coz it might end soon...”

“Then go?” Carmilla says, confused.

“But I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “I’ll be fine. How about I just hide in the bushes til the party ends?  That way afterwards, you’ll either find your mom’s clothes, or if I’m still around, we can go from there.”

Laura dives forward and squeezes Carmilla in a hug.  “Thank you, strange naked crazy lady in the park!”

 

Carmilla laughs and makes her way to the bushes as Laura runs back the way she came.

_ Not such a bad way to spend my twenty third birthday after all. _

 

In a couple hours, Laura returns to find a pile of clothes left behind.  She brings it to her attic, folds them neatly, and eats an extra slice of cake beside the pile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn't love a little Hollstein twist on the source material?  
> Although, to reiterate, for those of you who know the original The Time Traveler's Wife, this version won't be following that to a T.  
> In the meantime, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback down below or over yonder on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> And, as always, thanks for reading! Next update will be in a week!


	10. The Pandora’s Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla returns to the present in her birthday to find a surprise. Mattie gives her some advice, while Laura’s friends reveal a secret to her.

**April 2013**

 

“Oh, crap,” Laura curses as Carmilla reappears in the present.

“Uhm.  Wow. Really knows how to make an entrance,” another voice says.

Carmilla’s still trying to focus and readjust, and it takes her a few moments to realize it’s Danny.

And that the room is full of people, including Mattie.

 

And birthday decorations.

 

“Happy birthday?” Laura says weakly, running over and throwing a robe around Carmilla.

“Talk about a birthday suit,” LaFontaine comments, earning a laugh from Kirsch and a disapproving look with a failed concealed chuckle from Perry.

Carmilla ties the robe’s strings together and glances around, eyes wide.

 

“I’m sorry if you’re mad,” Laura apologizes in a whisper.

She gently pulls Carmilla onto the balcony, away from the others.

“I planned this party out weeks ago and it wasn’t until I woke up this morning next to a pile of clothes that I realized you’d traveled and by then everyone was already on their way… And I felt rude sending everyone home, so we started decorating...”

Carmilla shakes her head with a chuckle.  “I’m not mad. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

Laura grins.  “You’re not mad?”

Carmilla crosses her chest, a sign of a promise she’d started doing after noticing Laura has a habit of saying, “cross your heart and hope to die.”

“No, I’m not mad.  Surprised, definitely.  But I bet your friends never thought they’d see so much of me.”  Carmilla takes Laura by the hands and tugs her a bit closer. “How’d you get Mattie to show up?”

“I promise her there’d be wine.  She brought her own bottle anyway...”

Carmilla laughs.

Laura leans in for a kiss on the lips.  “Let’s get you changed? We can kick everyone out whenever you want.”

“How about right now?” Carmilla asks with a smirk.

“You’re the birthday girl,” Laura replies simply.

 

Carmilla squints into Laura’s apartment.  Kirsch is currently animatedly saying something to Danny that’s being met with a disgusted look.  Perry is rearranging decorations and not-so-subtly cleaning around everyone.

“I guess they can stay for a little bit,” Carmilla says, booping Laura on the nose.  “Otherwise you’d probably eat the whole cake yourself and I don’t want to deal with that sugar high.”

“I’d save you a slice,” Laura insists sweetly.

Carmilla grins.  “And who says chivalry is dead?”

They head back inside and soon enough, Carmilla is settling in beside Laura in a black t-shirt and ripped jeans.

 

“So everyone here knows about your time traveling?” Mattie asks, already halfway through a bottle of wine.

“If they didn’t before…” Carmilla replies, making Laura laugh.  “Aren’t you gonna ask when I was?” she asks Laura.

Laura hands her a plate of chips and crackers and cradles two cups of soda in her lap with her hands.  “When did you travel to?”

“May 1997,” Carmilla answers, slowly looking at Laura.

After a couple seconds, Laura’s mouth drops open and her eyes light up.  “Oh my gosh!”

 

“What was May 1997?” Danny asks, chewing loudly on a cookie.

“The first time Carm traveled back to see me,” Laura says.

Perry frowns.  “I thought you said Carm’s only traveled back to meet you this past fall.”

“I mean, it’s the first time _I_ ever met Carm,” Laura clarifies.  “It was right after Danny’s birthday party.”

“Oh!  The one where you were being a baby and stormed off?” Danny teases.

Carmilla narrows her eyes.  “Okay, yeah. What gives? First, this red twerp bullies you til you leave her birthday party.  Then, she makes fun of your dead mother. How the hell are you two still friends over fifteen years later?”

Danny and Laura share an amused look.

“Spoilers,” Laura says coyly.

Carmilla glares at Danny and Danny snickers.

“Carm, I promise.  There is a lot of history between me and Danny, but we’re good now.  We’re friends.” Laura pats Carmilla’s leg reassuringly.

Carmilla lets out a long sigh.  “Whatever. She’s getting the smallest slice of cake.”

Kirsch cackles and Danny shoots him a dirty look.

“Guess I’ll just take yours,” she teases dryly.

“Man, what is with girls taking my stuff?” Kirsch asks sadly.

 

Laura smiles at him.  “Don’t worry, Dudescort.  I’ll protect you and your cake.”

“You DO take the oath we made seriously!“ Kirsch exclaims happily.

“Well, you did take the time out to write original ones,” Laura points out.

Carmilla scoffs.  “You literally swore an oath to protect his cake?”

Laura nods with a giggle.  “And his Pilsner. And his sandwiches.  And his schnizel.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes and watches as Mattie grabs an entire full bottle of wine and her glass and steps out onto the balcony.

 

Carmilla clears her throat.  “I’m gonna...”

“Yeah, go chat with her,” Laura says gently.

Carmilla gives her a peck on the cheek.  “Thanks.” She carefully steps out and watches from behind Mattie as she swirls the wine in her glass.  “Aren’t I usually the brooding one?”

Mattie laughs softly and waits for Carmilla to stand by her side.  “And I’m glad you no longer are. It’s nice to see you happy, little sis.”

She offers Carmilla her glass and Carmilla takes a small sip before handing it back.

 

Mattie wraps her hand around her locket and sighs.

“Do you remember when we first met?  You were this scared teenager, had just broken into my home.  Found closets of expensive clothes and bookshelves with rare volumes.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “And then you showed up and threatened to maim me.”

“Right.  That just happened in my timeline, y’know.”

Mattie pauses, waiting for a reaction from her and laughing when she gets a surprised one.

“And I told you I was also a time traveler, and we’d become the best of friends. That we were one and the same. And I told you where to find me in your time.”

“You had just moved out from your mother’s house,” Carmilla recollects.  “She was like mine. Didn’t understand your abilities. Your dad didn’t stick around to explain them to either of you.”

 

Mattie nods. ”And I told you that I learned the secret to not traveling was to remain calm. Stay grounded. Which you were anything but.”  She gives her a pointed look. “Still are.”

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “This isn’t like you, to get all sentimental.”

“I’ve watched you struggle for a decade with traveling,” Mattie says reflectively.  “Watched you struggle with remaining calm. With finding a reason in your existence to stay in one place.  Not run away.”

“You already told me and Laura that you think she can keep me grounded,” Carmilla replies.

“Don’t interrupt, dear.”  Mattie hums. “I’ve watched you struggle for a decade with traveling, so I’ve never told you what it felt like from the other side.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

“I’ve never told you what it’s like to wait for you to travel back.  To look at the void in the space you disappeared from, and be wondering for hours, days, weeks… In Laura’s case, months.  Who knows? Maybe you’ve even kept her waiting for years without realizing it right now.”

 

Carmilla frowns.  “Mattie, w-what are you…?  Are you telling me to break up with Laura?”

Mattie cackles, but it feels devoid of humor.  “Quite the opposite. I’m saying, you’ve found someone strong enough to understand you and your absences, and trust that you’ll eventually come back to her.  And I’m finding it disgusting and vile and gross to let these words come out of my mouth, but I’m telling you to hold onto her. Coz Carm, as nauseating as it is… this girl really cares about you.  And you care about her.”

Carmilla takes a deep breath.

“Don’t fuck this up, okay?”  Mattie lightly nudges her. “Or I’ll have to smack you into the past until you come to your senses.”

Carmilla laughs at that and leans her head on Mattie’s shoulder.  “Gotta admit, Mattie… I thought you’d find Laura annoying.”

“Oh god, she _IS_ ,” Mattie replies in exasperation, making Carmilla laugh again.  “Carm, the other day when she visited me to invite me to this, I watched her run into the street and get lightly hit by a car to rescue a bunch of lost baby squirrels.  Who _does_ that?”

Carmilla pulls away with a frown.

“What?” Mattie asks.

“She told me she fell in the shower.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Where’s Laura?” Carmilla asks as Mattie goes to sit in the corner of the living room alone.

“She went with Kirsch to the liquor store to buy Mattie more wine,” LaFontaine replies.

Mattie chuckles softly.  “I knew speaking up for her would pay off.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “Yeah, coz there was a real danger of me breaking up with Laura.”

“You’d better not,” Danny snaps.  “The three of us didn’t suffer through years of Laura excitedly marking off the calendar until ‘ _my friend Carmilllllaaaaa_ ’ arrives for you to break her heart when you two finally got your timelines synched up.”

Carmilla scowls at her.  “Did anyone ask you, Red?”  Her eyes widen as something occurs to her.  “Wait. How did Laura know when I would visit again?”

“It happened a little after her mom passed away,” Perry says.  “I’d say it was the next visit afterwards that she began marking off the days.”

Carmilla looks even more confused.  “But _how_ would she know?”

Perry shrugs.

“You’re the one who tells her,” Danny grumbles as an answer.

 

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow at her.  “Okay. _Now_ I’m asking _you_.  What do you mean, I’m the one who tells her?”

Danny huffs.  “It’s been a few years since she told me, but all she said was somehow in the future, you’d found a way to memorize all the dates you’d go back and visit her.  So every visit, you’d tell her when the next visit is, so she wouldn’t waste her whole life waiting for you.”

“But how would I know?  Or-- how will I know?” Carmilla wonders aloud, more to herself than directed to anyone else.

The three look pensive.  Finally, LaF’s face lights up.  “Oh! Oh! She had th-that… That photo album and those DVDs and flash drives!”

Carmilla looks at them inquisitively.

“She had this photo album with pictures of you to prove to us you exist and then later there were vlogs,” LaF explains.

Danny laughs at the memory.  “She probably still has the box around here somewhere.”

 

“I did find a box under her bed when I was cleaning this morning,” Perry notes.  “I just didn’t open it coz of privacy.”

“Yeah, and you rooting around under her bed is definitely respecting her privacy,” Carmilla comments dryly.

Perry glares at her.  “There was a stubborn little dust bunny I spotted down there.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes and gets up.

“Aren’t you about to invade her privacy, too?” LaF points out.

Carmilla clenches her jaw.  “I was just going to go take a shower since I spent this past travel hiding in some park bushes,” she says.  “Unlike some annoying redheads, I actually respect her privacy.”

She storms off to Laura’s bathroom.

Perry looks at LaF, confused.  “Who are the annoying redheads?”

 

* * *

 

“We’re back!” Kirsch yells, holding a keg of beer.

Laura walks in with a case in her arms, carefully balancing two bottles in boxes on top.   “Where’s Carm?” she asked, putting everything down.

“Taking a shower,” Mattie replies.

Danny helps put away the beers in the fridge.  “Heads up, LaFontaine blabbed about your box.”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “ _WHAT_?”

“She was asking how you’d know when she’d pop up in the past!” LaF explains.

“You didn’t have to _tell_ her,” Laura growls.  “Just tell her it would’ve been spoilers!”

LaF crosses their arms. “Did it ever occur to you that the reason she knows to go to you in the past with dates in mind is because in the future you show her this box?”

“They have a point,” Danny comments.

“Like temporal causation,” LaF continues.  “A cycle like a snake eating its own tail.”

Laura stands there for a moment.

 

“I heard Laura yelling,” Carmilla says with concern from the doorway, fully clothed and drying her hair with a towel.  “What’s wrong?”

Laura looks back and forth between LaFontaine and Carmilla.  Finally, she sighs. “Time to open Pandora’s box.”

She walks to her bedroom and walks back out with a cardboard box, putting it on the floor in the middle of the living room.

Everyone gathers around her as she pops it open, revealing a photo album on top of a small pile of DVDs and flashdrives.

“Holy shit,” Carmilla comments.

 

Laura shyly opens the photo album and hands it to Carmilla.

“That’s… wow,” Carmilla remarks, slightly bewildered at seeing pictures of her with Laura through the years but having no memory of them being taken.  Yet.

Each photo has a date stamp on them, and a short description written under them on the photo album page.

There’s a sound from the television and Laura looks up in horror.  There’s a discarded empty DVD box labeled “Carmilla, Vol. I.”

 

“ _Ugh, do we have to?_ ” Future Carmilla’s voice says over a black screen.

“ _It’s for posterity!_ ” a young Laura insists.

Future Carmilla sighs.  “ _Posterity can bite me._ ”

There’s a small _thud_ and then the camera spins to show a slightly off-centered older Carmilla and younger Laura.

“ _Hi, gentle viewers. I’m Laura Hollis.  I’m nine years old._ ”

She lightly elbows a sighing Future Carmilla.  She has a sticker on her forehead. Laura has one on her cheek.

“ _I’m Carmilla Karnstein.  I’m twenty seven._ ”

“ _The year is 2000,_ ” past Laura states, very serious.

Danny lets out a snort, holding the remote.  “Oh, man. Little Laura.”

“ _We’re filming this for Future Laura and Past Carmilla._ ”  She waves.  Future Carmilla continues to glare into the camera.  “ _Wave!_ ” she demands, elbowing Future Carmilla again.

Future Carmilla scowls down at Past Laura.  “ _You’re lucky you’re cute,_ ” she grumbles before she plasters on a fake smile and waves over-enthusiastically.

“ _Hollstein, out,_ ” Past Laura says.  She fumbles with the camera and the video cuts out.

 

It starts to go to the next video, but Laura pauses it, having grabbed the remote from an amused Danny.  She slowly looks over at Carmilla.

“Are you freaked out?” she asks softly.  “Oh god, you’re probably freaked out and I’m sorry this freaked you out.  It’s just, all the pictures and the video and now you’re trying to figure out how to run out of here a-and I’m in front of the front door, so--”

Laura awkward steps away from the front door.  Carmilla walks towards her.

“--So, you can run out of here if you want--”

Carmilla chuckles, stepping closer to Laura.  “Don’t be ridiculous. I think it’s amazing you did this,” she says gently.  She leans in and captures Laura’s lips in a kiss.

 

“You’re not freaked out?” Laura mumbles against her lips.

Carmilla laughs and kisses her again.  “No,” she says pulling away. “Although, I do think it would be heavy ‘spoilers’ territory for me to watch these videos before experiencing them.  Plus it’d make those interactions less organic. How about after each time I travel back to see you, we watch the video for that visit when I come back?”

Laura grins.  “Sap.”

“I second that,” Mattie grumbles, still in the corner of the room.

 

Laura rolls her eyes and walks over with two boxes - one with wine, and one with a bottle of champagne.  “Here’s your wine and your ludicrously expensive bottle of champagne.”

Mattie only takes the wine.  “The champagne is for the two of you to share.”  She seems to realize she’s being too nice to Laura.  “Or just for Carm,” she quickly amends lamely.

Carmilla and Laura share an amused look.

“Sap,” they say together.

Mattie growls and pours another full glass of wine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading as always! Y’all are the best. Next update will be next Monday!  
> Feel free to leave any comments or feedback here or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> 


	11. Ye Olde Selfie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back to find a young Laura at home alone and joins her for dinner and an episode of Buffy. She tells Laura a little bit about her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler for, uh, anyone who hasn't seen _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ yet LOL

**February 1998**

 

Carmilla smiles when she realizes she’s traveled back to Laura’s childhood home.  It’d be almost a year and a half since she’d traveled and longer since she’d traveled to see Laura.  During that time, she’d memorized all the dates she’d traveled back to see Laura. There were almost a dozen of them, but since she’d already done a few, the dates were easy to memorize.

Laura insisted that these were spoilers for her, but Carmilla pointed out that there was no other way Carmilla could know when to tell  Past Laura that she’d visit again.

 

She didn’t want Laura to spend her whole life waiting on Carmilla-- in the past, present, or future.

 

Mattie marveled pretty often that, instead of traveling every few weeks or even more frequently like usual, Carmilla hadn’t traveled for well over a year.

One night, while polishing off a bottle of wine, Mattie commented that Laura keeping Carmilla grounded was something she was envious of, but so happy that Carmilla has.

The next morning, Mattie declared she’d never said such a thing.

 

But now here she was.  She just had to find out  _ when _ she was.

 

At least there was a pile of clothes sitting there.  The same pile of clothes from the park.

Carmilla quickly gets dressed and quietly heads to the hallway.  It’s night time, but she doesn’t hear anyone home.

Before she can determine her next move, the house phone rings.  A small voice answers it below.

“ _ Hello? … Oh.  Yeah, I’ll be fine alone.  Tell mommy I love her. _ ”

_ So clear this was before the end of 1998 _ , Carmilla notes.   _ But after  _ _ May  _ _ 1997…  _ She hears the phone hang up and carefully heads down the stairs.

 

Soft footsteps head towards her, clearly going for the living room couch.  Just as Carmilla starts to call out to her to warn her, Laura happens to peek up.  She yelps and grabs her chest.

“Holy poop!” she exclaims.

“Sorry, sorry,” Carmilla apologizes profusely.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She looks around.  “You’re home alone?”

Laura nods, eyeing Carmilla warily.  “It’s been so long, I wasn’t sure I really met you.”  She crosses her arms. “Plus, that man my mommy and daddy had me talk to told me you were an imaginary friend.”

Carmilla frowns.  “I told you not to tell anyone about me, you stubborn creampuff.”

Laura sticks her tongue out and plopping down on the couch, glancing at the spot next to her.

 

“So how long are you here for?” Laura asks curiously.

“Not sure.  Can’t control it, remember?” Carmilla replies, taking a seat beside her.  “When am I?”

Laura gives her a perplexed look.  Clearly she wasn’t used to these kinds of questions.  Yet. “February 1998.”

Carmilla hums.  No wonder she was so jittery.  Laura had only met her once so far.  And, according to Laura’s video diaries and photo albums, the next time Laura would see her would be a year from now.  After her mom passed away.

 

“Hello?  Laura to Carmilla,” a voice says to her urgently.  “Are you even listening to me?”

Carmilla blinks.  “Huh? Sorry, no.”

“I was asking if you’re hungry and want dinner,” Laura huffs.  “My parents won’t be home tonight and I haven’t eaten, yet. We’ve got dinner and cupcakes for dessert.”

“Sure,” Carmilla says, following as Laura’s already on her way to the kitchen.  “Where are your parents?”

 

Laura starts putting a pan of lasagna into the oven, having apparently already pre-heat it before her phone call with her father.  “Hospital,” she answers quietly.

Carmilla swallows hard.  “Oh.”

“Dad tells me everything will be okay.  But...” Laura sighs, closing the oven door and sets a timer.  “I’m not a dumb kid. Which I guess every dumb kid says, but… I can tell when people are holding back things.”  She smiles at Carmilla. “So thanks for being honest with me the last time we met. And telling me the truth. Even if it’s crazy and now everyone thinks I’m crazy.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “You’re welcome, cupcake.”

“You, uh, wouldn’t happen to be able to tell me if everything’s gonna be okay with my mom, right?” Laura asks shyly, but hopefully.

“I’m afraid that’d be spoilers,” Carmilla replies sadly.  She really wants to tell Laura, but that’d be too much to put on a seven year old.  “But I  _ can _ tell you that you’re strong enough to handle whatever the world throws at you.”

Laura pouts.  “You sound like a bad fortune cookie.”

“I’ve been called worse,” Carmilla says with a shrug and a wink.

 

The oven timer dings and Laura opens the door, grabbing the oven mitts.

“Why don’t I do the honors?” Carmilla asks.  “Don’t wanna be a bad guest.”

Laura hands her the mitts and goes to get plates and forks.  “You mean, coming down my stairs and scaring me is good guest etiquette?” she teases.

“Considering I didn’t outright rob you or beat you up or technically break into your home?  Yeah,” Carmilla replies without thinking. She turns to find a wide-eyed Laura.

 

“You’ve done those things?” Laura asks, putting down the plates and indicating where Carmilla should put down the pan.

Carmilla swallows hard.  “If I’m being honest-- yes.  Many times.” She takes the mitts off.  “I-It’s what I had to do to survive. I promise you’re not in any danger.”

Laura regards Carmilla with an unreadable expression for several seconds before smiling.  “Okay, cool.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together in confusion and watches as Laura begins divvying up the lasagna.  “That’s it?”

Laura frowns.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re not gonna attack me with a rolling pin and tie me to a chair and scream I’m a monster?” Carmilla clarifies.

Laura giggles.  “Would you like me to?”

 

She holds out a plate for Carmilla to take and also reaches into the fridge to get her a can of grape soda.

“I’m pretty sure if you were dangerous, you would’ve tried something by now.”  She grabs her own plate and walks past the dining table, heading back into the living room and centering a TV dinner stand so both of them can put their plates on it.  “I’m sure it can’t be easy, randomly popping up in places with no idea how long you’ll be there, without clothes or food.”

Carmilla stares at her incredulously.  “Were you born with this much ability to sympathize?”

Laura turns on the television.  “My mommy always tells me to look at everyone’s point of view and understand that my way isn’t always the only way, no matter how stubborn I am.”

Carmilla laughs at that and settles in beside her.

 

“What are we watching?”

“It’s this new show called  _ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, _ ” Laura says, her attention turned away as the episode begins.  “I found it when I had strep throat and was looking for something to watch.”

“You had strep throat?” Carmilla asks. 

Laura waves her hand dismissively.  “Shh!”

Buffy wakes up to find an envelope on her pillow and opens it to find a drawing of herself sleeping.  Panicking, she runs to Giles to ask if there’s a way to reverse Angelus’s invitation to her house.

 

“Oh, this is the one where Jenny dies, right?” Carmilla asks, forgetting Laura had shushed her minutes before.

“Wait,  _ WHAT _ ?” Laura squeaks.

“Oh.  Oops,” Carmilla mumbles.  “Guess that’s airing right now and…. Not……. A rerun.”

Laura gapes at her.  “Guess you really are a time-traveler.”

“Was that in doubt before this?” Carmilla asks, amused.

“Well, now you’re a  _ lousy _ time traveler,” Laura grumbles.  “And you don’t get to talk during this show anymore,”

“Heard that one before,” Carmilla says.

Laura narrows her eyes in a glare.  “ _ ‘Spoilers _ ,’” she replies mockingly, making Carmilla laugh.

 

As requested, Carmilla stays silent for the rest of the episode, even taking Laura’s plate into the kitchen to wash it.  The episode draws to a close, with Laura’s mouth hanging open. “She’s really dead.”

Carmilla nods gravely.  “Yep. Sorry, cupcake.”

“I’d probably would be a little more traumatized if someone hadn’t ruined it for me,” Laura grumbles.

“You should be grateful then,” Carmilla teases.

Laura huffs.  She goes to get the remote to change the channel when something catches her eye.

 

“Oh!  I totally forgot.  My mom bought this Polaroid camera for me,” she says, picking it up and showing Carmilla.  “Mind if we take a picture together?”

“Ye olde selfie,” Carmilla comments.

Laura bunches up her face in confusion.  “Huh?”

“Nothing,” Carmilla quickly says, taking the camera from Laura and doing her best to center it before taking a picture and handing it to Laura. “Laura… remember, you can’t show this to anyone, okay?”

“Okay,” Laura says.  “Even though this would  _ totally _ prove to my friends that make fun of me for having an imaginary friend.”  She sighs. “Pretty sure if I told my parents that some stranger has been time traveling in and out of the attic, they’d sell the house.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “Yeah.”

 

After it develops, and Carmilla smiles at seeing the Polaroid look less faded than the one she found in the future, she turns to find Laura examining her curiously.

“So.  We watch  _ Buffy _ together in the future.”

“I could’ve been joking,” Carmilla answers vaguely.

Laura crosses her arms.  “You’re annoying.”

“I’ve also heard that one before.”  She grins. “But… speaking of spoilers… I know the next time you’ll see me.”

“Whoa,” Laura says.  She starts to ask something, but stops herself.  “Wait. Don’t tell me.”

Carmilla blinks, surprised.  “ _ Don’t _ tell you?”

“Don’t tell me,” Laura repeats.  “As much as you surprised me, it was a nice surprise.  I want it to be a surprise next time, too.”

Carmilla swallows hard.  The next time Laura would see her, would be after her mother passes away.

 

“Promise me you won’t tell me unless I ask you?” Laura asks.

Carmilla looks the young girl in the eyes and nods hesitantly.  “Okay. I promise. But that means you’re just gonna have to leave clothes in the attic indefinitely until the next time I show up.”

Laura smiles at her.  “Cool, okay.” She bounces in place.  “I can’t wait til the day you meet my mommy and daddy.”

“...Yeah,” Carmilla manages to say as convincingly as possible.  “Yeah, me neither.”

 

She’s still in 1998 when Laura drifts off to sleep on the couch, so Carmilla carefully carries the sleeping girl to her bedroom and tucks her in.

After a lot of internal debate, Carmilla scribbles a note that reads, “ _ See you February 2nd and 27th, 1999. -Carmilla _ ”

She leaves it on Laura's desk, folded, with "SPOILERS" written on the outside, for Laura to maybe find later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and commenting! It means so much to me to get feedback of any kind <3  
> As always, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Til next time, creampuffs :D Next update will be in a week!


	12. The Story Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura scores an interview with a CEO for a story she's investigating, while Carmilla struggles to grasp the permanence of their relationship.

**January 2015**

 

Carmilla cracks open her eyes at the feeling of Laura climbing out of their bed.  It hadn’t taken long into their relationship for Carmilla to move in with Laura, although there had never been anything official.

But during most of 2012 and 2013, Carmilla was still vanishing so often and reappearing in Laura’s apartment, that soon enough most of Carmilla’s wardrobe and her toothbrush had been moved for the sake of convenience.  By 2014, the traveling had slowed down, but they had decided to just get a new place together, especially when Laura graduated and got a job. And them living together took some anxiety off Carmilla about paying rent when she did travel.  Which, to their immense happiness, hadn’t happened for quite a while.

 

“Good morning,” Laura says around a yawn as she walks off to the bathroom and begins brushing her teeth.

“Not good morning,” Carmilla grumbles.  “Very, very bad morning.”

She hears Laura laugh through her applied toothpaste.  “When did you travel off to last night, grumpy pants?”

“February 1998.  Our first Buffy viewing together.”

Laura spits out the toothpaste and pops her head through the door with a playful glare. “I’ll still never forgive you for that spoiler.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “Yeah, sorry again about that.”

Laura goes back into the bathroom and returns a few minutes later.

 

“Too bad I didn’t disappear for a few more days,” Carmilla pouts.

“Why?” Laura asks with a frown.

Carmilla’s pout grows.  “Coz then we would’ve been spending a weekend together, instead of me watching you leave for work.”

“But then I would’ve had to spend those few days alone,” Laura points out.  She gives Carmilla a minty peck on the lips. “Also, Mattie couldn’t find anyone to cover your afternoon shift while she’s in Morocco. So you’ve still got work today.”

“What would they have done if I didn’t come back?” Carmilla asks.

Laura starts changing into her work clothes.  “I was just gonna go in and cover for you. My interview for the article should be over by then.”

Carmilla stares at her with a soft look.  “You’re amazing, you know that?”

 _And I love you_.

 

Carmilla swallows hard at that thought.  It’s one she’s had countless times in the past couple years, but she’s never said it.

Laura’s also never said it, but Carmilla has a feeling it’s because she doesn’t want to scare Carmilla.  As if she knows that some part of Carmilla still has a feeling that this is all temporary, and one day the one person keeping her grounded will drift away.

Those three words could solidify the feeling, but it could also make it all the more painful if she ever loses her relationship with Laura.  And Laura seems to understand that.

So instead, they both let a look between them linger.

 

“Well, there are cupcakes I baked last night in the kitchen.  I have to get going,” Laura eventually says, “This woman is supposedly very impatient.”

“Who even is she?” Carmilla asks around a yawn.

Laura is putting on her makeup across the room.  “I’m not even sure. The original source LaF put me in touch with was some manager at a smaller branch.  But word got out and I guess the CEO wants to do damage control, so she reached out to me and said that she would like to do the interview instead of letting her inferior do it.”

“Sounds like a wonderful lady,” Carmilla comments dryly.

Laura chuckles and gives Carmilla one more kiss on the lips.  “And I’ll tell you all about her wonderfulness later when I meet you at the library.”

 

Carmilla huffs as Laura leaves the room and she hears the front door lock.

Whoever that woman was, she hated her already for getting more time with Laura today than she would.

 

* * *

 

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re the one who signs off on the waste removal practices from your laboratories?” Laura asks, a phone on the desk between her and her interviewee.

“I’m saying I delegate.  I have experts who run tests and perform surveys and generate reports, who are checked by other experts.  And they advise whether or not I should sign,” she answers tactfully.

Laura clenches her jaw.  “Then I’d like to speak to these experts.”

“I’ll see who’s available,” she replies vaguely.

Laura stares her right in the eyes, unwilling to back down.  It had been a couple hours of these sort of answers, and she had reached her breaking point.

 

“Look.  You kept me waiting a few hours today,” Laura states.  “So stop wasting my time. I’m not here to get you arrested or take away your precious waste dumping sites. I’m not here to get your or any of your employees fired.”  She takes a deep breath. “I’m here to go deeper than that. I’m trying to determine if the practices used to determine how safe it is to dump biological waste at these sites need to be looked over.”  Laura leans in, unwavering. “So stop covering your ass with these bureaucratic BS answers and tell me what the exact protocols and procedures are. Or I _will_ write an article framing you as a villain to put pressure on you for the same exact answers.”

 

The woman blinks at Laura, clearly impressed. The moment passes through her face quickly, as she leans back in her chair with a chuckle.  “Fine, fine, Miss Hollis. I’m actually having dinner with the legal department head tonight to discuss how this chat went. How about you come along with me and maybe you’ll get your answers.”

 

Laura perks up.  “Yeah, that sounds great!”

“Okay.  If you’re not concerned with me ‘wasting more of your time,’ you could wait here and I’ll give you a lift in a couple hours.”

“I actually had plans tonight--” Laura pauses.  “--which I can cancel. I just need to give my girlfriend a heads up first and she can’t check her phone at work coz she works at the library near Silas University.  I’d need to tell her in person and then I can meet you at the restaurant.”

“That’s actually on the way.  I can come over and give you a ride from there,” the woman answers.

“Oh.  Okay, then see you then,” Laura replies, collecting her things.

As she opens the office door, the woman speaks again.  “Miss Hollis.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever talk to me like that again.”

 

Laura doesn’t reply and leaves the office, making her way to her car in the parking lot.

She hits a lot of traffic during the earlier rush hour and, by the time she finally gets to the library, it’s already almost the end of Carmilla’s shift and the library is empty.

“Hey, babe.  How did it go?” Carmilla asks, carting some books around.

“Had to put my foot down and tell her to stop jerking me around,” Laura grumbles.  “She finally agreed to let me meet with the head of her legal department to ask more questions.”

Carmilla grins and pulls Laura in by the waist of her skirt.  “That’s amazing,” she says, before giving her a sweet kiss.

Laura deepens it before pulling away.  “It’s also tonight.”

“I _really_ don’t like this woman,” Carmilla grumbles, making Laura laugh.

“Yeah, she’s kinda cold and demanding,” Laura admits.  “But if she helps me get this story going, then I’ll take it.”

Carmilla sighs.  “I guess. What’s her name, anyway?”

“Lilita Morgan,” Laura replies.

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen and she lets go of Laura, all color draining from her face.

Laura frowns and barely has time to react when Carmilla’s knees give out.  She manages to hold Carmilla up. “Carm! Carm, are you okay?”

Carmilla’s breathing is shaky and her eyes are unfocused.

“Whoa, whoa,” Laura says urgently.  She cups Carmilla’s face in her hands, trying to get their eyes to meet.  “Look at me, look at me. Focus on my voice.”

Carmilla grabs onto the sound of Laura’s voice like a lifeline and manages to slow her erratic breathing, finally locking eyes with her.

“Breathe, breathe,” Laura says gently, holding onto Carmilla’s shoulders.  “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

 

Carmiilla swallows hard, stammering.  “N… N-No, it’s- it’s--”

The front door of the library swings open and they both turn to face their guest.

“Come on now, Miss Hollis.  My driver is parked at a hydrant--”

Her eyes widen as she looks at who Laura is standing with.  “Carmilla,” she says, a slight waver in her voice.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together in confusion.  “You two know each other?”

Carmilla looks like she’s about to faint.

“Mother.”

 

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Wait. _Wait_ .  Lilita Morgan is your _mom_?”

Carmilla doesn’t trust her words and simply nods frantically, looking at only Laura.

“My, my.  You’re dating my daughter,” Lilita says evenly.  “What a small world.”

Laura stares at Carmilla, trying to lend her strength, or at the very least keep her from vomiting.

“And here I was, starting to develop some respect for you,” she says to Laura.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Laura demands.

Lilita scoffs.  “I don’t know how you’ve been seeing each other, but give it more than a couple weeks and you’ll see.  She’s unworthy of being in anyone’s life.”

 

Laura lets Carmilla go looking Lilita right in the eyes.  “We’ve been seeing each other for over two years,” she growls.

Lilita seems taken aback by that, and regards Laura carefully.  “Two years? Then surely by now, you know...”

“That she’s a time traveler?” Laura finishes.  “Yes. And that has nothing to do with diminishing her worth.  If anything, her resilience through it makes her even more admirable.”

“Foolish girl,” Lilita spits out.  “She’s a monster.”

Laura narrows her eyes.  “The only monster I’m seeing here is you.”

“I am not the one who let my father die in a car crash,” Lilita states coldly.

 

The air feels like it’s been sucked out of the room.

The three remain in silence as a clock in the patron area ticks away the time, each second feeling more and more empty than the last.

Laura slowly glances over at Carmilla.

Suddenly all the years of angry, hating looks from her mother click into place.  All of the demeaning, awful things said to her. The way the house always felt devoid of love and happiness.

“Th… That’s why you’ve always been so awful to me?” Carmilla finally asks, her voice small.

 

Lilita laughs ruefully.  “Your father was a good, kind, calm man.  He rarely traveled, and it only started happening after he hit puberty.  But you? You were a wild, emotional child, who traveled for the first time at five years old.  And all I know is, one night you and the man I loved went out, and only one of you came back.”

Laura gapes at her, appalled.  “‘Only one of you came back?’ You should be grateful either of them came back at all!”

“The _wrong_ one came back!” Lilita roars, her composure completely gone.  “I didn’t ask to have to raise a child with this _curse_ \-- and _alone_!”

“Get out,” Laura says, unable to stand the sight of this woman any longer.

Lilita opens her mouth, but Laura cuts her off.

“GET OUT!” Laura yells.

 

“What about your _story_?” Lilita mocks.

“Screw my story,” Laura snaps.  “And screw you. Carm is ten times the woman you’ll ever be, and she deserved a hell of a lot more than you.”  She clenches her hands into fits. “So get the hell out before I throw your ass out myself.”

Lilita scoffs and stares them both down with disgust.  “It’d be my pleasure.” She turns and leaves without another word.

 

Laura waits for the door to close before she spins and looks at Carmilla, worry in her widened eyes.

“Carm, Carm, I am _so_ sorry. Cross my heart-- I didn’t know.  If I had any idea that she was your mom, I never would’ve--”

“I love you,” Carmilla blurts out.

Laura stops talking and her breath hitches in her throat.  “I-- What?”

“I love you,” Carmilla repeats, her eyes welling up with tears as she dives forward, burying her face in Laura’s chest.  “I love you, I love you. I love you so much and I’m so sorry I haven’t said it before.” She’s sobbing now, holding Laura closer to her tighter and tighter.  “You’re my home and you make me feel real and safe and I love you.”

Laura kisses the top of Carmilla’s head and rubs soothing circles on her back.  “I love you, too, Carm. And I promise I’m not going anywhere. You’ll always have someone who loves you to come home to.”

And she feels Carmilla continue to cry, but nod.

 

Because this no longer feels temporary.

It feels like love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's writing the last two chapters of this fic~  
> In the meantime, I love chatting about it with you lovely people, whether it's down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! And, as always, stay awesome <3


	13. The Come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from Carmilla's past interrupts a date and tries to give Laura a new perspective.

**December 2016**

 

“I know you’re a grinch,‘ Laura says as she takes Carmilla’s gloved hand in hers, “but you’re telling me even from an aesthetic standpoint you don’t find this winter village pretty?”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “We could enjoy the exact same aesthetic in our warm, cozy apartment, which has fairy lights hung up.”

Laura gives her an endearing look.  “Maybe you get grumpy in the cold coz you insist on only wearing a leather jacket.”

“No, I get grumpy in the cold because it’s cold,” Carmilla grumbles.

Laura laughs and stops, letting go of Carmilla’s hand, which makes her pout.  She takes her scarf off and wraps it around Carmilla’s neck. “Better?”

 

“No, coz now you’re cold,” Carmilla replies, her pout growing.

“Better keep me warm, then,” Laura says with a smirk.  “I mean, what if I get hypothermia?”

Carmilla gives an overdramatic gasp.  “Then who would buy the cupcakes?”

Laura kisses Carmilla’s protruding lower lip.  “Other people can buy cupcakes, y’know.”

“I don’t want anyone else,” Carmilla whines.  “I want you.”

“Then it’s me you shall get,” Laura says softly, giving her a proper kiss.  “And for braving the perils of holiday decorations, you’ll also get some nice hot apple cider.”

 

They wait in line and get two cups, and manage to locate a small empty table nearby to wait until the cider is at a drinkable temperature.

“Carmilla?” a voice asks from nearby.

Carmilla pauses, then her eyes widen and she stiffens.

“Carmilla?” the woman repeats, sounding out each syllable in a British accent.  “Good lord, it  _ is _ you.  It’s been… almost a decade.”

Carmilla turns to face the source of the voice, gritting her teeth.  “Hello, Elle.”

 

Laura looks confusedly back and forth between them.

“And who is this?” Elle asks.

“This is Laura,” Carmilla replies tensely.  “She’s my girlfriend.”

Laura sticks out her hand, and Elle takes it. “Haven’t been dating long, I guess.”

“We’ve been together almost four years,” Laura replies, glancing at Carmilla for some kind of queue as to what she can and can’t say.

“She knows about my traveling,” Carmilla says bluntly, taking both Laura and Elle aback.  She addresses Laura. “Elle was my longest relationship before you. In high school.”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Wait a minute! Oh, you told me about her once.”

Carmilla frowns.  “What? No, I haven’t.”

“Oh, oops.  I guess, I mean, you  _ will _ tell me about her?  Accidental spoilers?” Laura laughs nervously.

Elle scoffs, perplexed.  “You mean, you’ve met each other out of order?”

 

Laura looks at Carmilla, who gives a small, reluctant nod.

She lowers her voice, realizing they’re in public.  “I’ve known Carm most of my life. Met her when I was six years old.  She met me when she was twenty-two, but by then her future self had traveled back to see me like, a dozen times.”

Elle’s mouth drops open.  “I thought the only person you’d ever traveled back to see is yourself.”

Carmilla shrugs.  “We’ve been just as confused by this as you are.”

 

“So you haven’t learned to control your freakiness,” Elle comments.

“Carm isn’t a freak,” Laura replies immediately.  “Just coz you don’t understand her doesn’t make her some kind of monster.”

Elle quirks an eyebrow.  “Right. Anyway, nice seeing you again, Carmilla.  And lovely meeting you, Laura.”

They wait until she walks away before both visibly relax.

“Well, now I don’t want to drink this hot cider anymore,” Laura grumbles.

“Why do I have trouble believing that?” Carmilla teases, although she feels the same.

Laura takes an angry sip, and Carmilla gives her an amused look.  “I said I didn’t want to. Not that I wouldn’t.”

 

* * *

 

“ _ Hey, just wanted to let you know she’s traveled _ ,” Mattie says on the phone.  “ _ Vanished right in the middle of children’s story time.  Had to convince those snot-nosed brats it’s a magic trick. _ ”

Laura hums.  “Thanks for the heads up.  It’s been almost two years.  Guess I’d better cancel our reservations at that new tea place around the corner.”

She hears Mattie sigh.  “ _ This is a courtesy call.  I don’t give a rat’s ass what two plans you two have. _ ”

“...Having issues finding someone to cover for her?” Laura asks, acting on a hunch.  “Coz I can cover for her--”

“ _ Stop being so nice all the time, _ ” Mattie growls.  “ _ Her shift ended already.  I had to finish reading that mind-numbing book to those squirming worms in her place. _ ”

Laura laughs at the image.

“ _ Har. Har.  Laugh it up.  Goodbye, Hollis. _ ”

“Bye, Mattie.”

 

Laura returns to typing her latest article.  It’s definitely not hard-hitting news, but it pays the bills.

“Laura?” a voice asks.

She peeks up from her laptop and it takes her a moment to place the face and the accent.  “Elle?”

“I realize this could come off as a bit stalkerish,” Ell says carefully.  “But I followed you and Carmilla back home when we met a week ago and this is the first time I’ve had time to see you alone.”

“Gee, nothing about any of that sounds stalkerish at all to me,” Laura says sarcastically.

Elle huffs a small laugh.  “I simply wanted a candid conversation with you, without Carmilla’s presence.”

Laura regards her skeptically but decides to give her a chance.  She motions for her to take the seat opposite from her.

“Let’s speak as reasonable women,” Elle says as she sits down with two cups of tea.  She puts one next to Laura’s laptop. “I asked the barista to make another of whatever you ordered.”

“Not getting any less stalker-y,” Laura comments dryly.

 

Elle nods in understanding, taking a sip from her own drink.  “I can see how you’ve managed to put up with her for so long. You’ve got quite the feisty spirit.”

Laura holds up a hand.  “Look. Whatever you’ve gotta say, you’re gonna have to say it without flat-out insulting Carm like that-- making her sound like some burden or horrible curse on my life.”

“Fair enough,” Elle says after a few moments.  “How much did Carmilla tell you about our time together?”

“That she dated you for a couple years in high school when you’d transfered here.  When you first started dating, she was traveling so much at that point that she was barely in school, but you were too wrapped up in general high school drama to really question it,” Laura says.  “About a year and a half in, she vanished while on a date with you. She reappeared a few hours later and you were freaking out.”

Laura looks at her to dispute anything, but when Elle does, she continues.

“She explained her condition to you.  How hard it is for her. How she can’t control it.  She asked you to give her a chance coz she really liked you.  Made her feel like a normal girl when she’s with you.”

Elle clenches her jaw and continues to drink from her cup.

“The next several months she thought everything was fine.  Then one day, she came back from a travel and found out she’d been gone a couple weeks and you’d started dating another girl.  Just like that.”

 

Elle laughs ruefully.  “Not, ‘ _ just like that _ .’  She’d been gone for weeks at a time.  She was traveling more often than not for our relationship.  What was I supposed to do, wait for her?” She shakes her head.  “Hell, no. I wasn’t about to wait for her to steal the best years of my life.”

Laura stares at her for a long time.  “I’ve waited months and years for her my whole life.  And, yes, it’s hard. And it’s even more hard now because before, she was traveling away from her timeline into mine, and I always knew we were on borrowed time.  Now, she just vanishes when we’re in the middle of something. But she always comes back. You didn’t find solace in that? A magic in that? In knowing she’d come back to you?”

“Ah, I see,” Elle smirks. “She’s not with you because of your strength.  She’s with you because you’re weak. Because you’re naive and optimistic and believe that good always wins and love is forever.”  She shakes her head. “The world doesn’t work that way.”

 

A cold silence hovers between them, with an even colder shared look lingering.

“Why are you here?” Laura finally asks.

“To warn you what life is like when you’re dating Carmilla Karnstein,” Elle replies stiffly.  “To tell you it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. To tell you how the world really works when she’s around.”

“Carm really isn’t the one who you blame for the world, is she? You could have everything that you ever wanted and you would still give it up because you are afraid.  You were afraid that one day, Carm might not come back. You were afraid of having your own life and that you’d get stuck waiting instead of working towards anything scary by yourself.  You,” Laura says pointedly, “came here today to hurt me.”

She drums her fingers on the tabletop.

“Everything that you’re doing right now, hurting everyone else, hurting yourself, it’s just because you’re afraid of what comes next.  And rather than owning that, you’ve put it all on Carm.” 

 

Elle swallows hard.  “She’s a freak who wriggled her way into my life, knowing she can never stay permanently when I need her.  She time travels. She deserves the blame for making me wait.”

“It’s not all about you,” Laura says, appalled.  “It’s about how afraid she is when she travels and needs someone to come home to.  Someone who isn’t scared to wait for her to come home.”

“And it’s clear, cupcake, that Elle is not that someone,” a voice says from behind Laura.

Laura jumps and turns in her seat.  “Carm?”

Elle looks like she’s seen a ghost.

Carmilla smiles and kisses Laura on the cheek, pulling over a chair and sitting beside her.  “Next time, might want to make sure your call with Mattie ended first.” She points down at Laura’s phone screen, which shows that Mattie is still on the line.  Carmilla holds up another phone-- Mattie’s phone, showing Laura is also still on the line. “I traveled back at the end of your conversation with her and she forgot to hang up.”

Laura gulps.  “Y-You’ve heard us this whole time?”

Carmilla nods, turning her attention to Elle.

 

“Tell me something, Elle.  When you went back home, is that what you told your parents?  That some freak had wasted a couple years of your life? Is that how you’ve justified all your fears?  That at least you’re not with some monster who needs a home?”

Carmilla fixes Elle with a look.

“Are you really so afraid of what my condition does?  Coz if that’s how you’re gonna live your life… You’ll never be able to enjoy it.  You’ll spend the rest of your days looking over your shoulder wondering if it’s my echoed step you hear at your temporal door.”

 

Elle stands up at that.  “I don’t have to justify what I did or how I live my life to you monsters.”

Laura grins smugly.  “And we don’t have to justify how we live to you.  If anyone’s the monster here, it’s you.”

Carmilla and Laura watch as Elle walks away, out of the cafe.

 

“She left her drink behind,” Laura points out, laughing as Carmilla takes it and drinks from it.

Carmilla chuckles and she pats Laura on the leg.  “Thank you, Laura.”

“For what?” Laura asks.

Carmilla shrugs.  “For never being afraid to wait.”

Laura smiles warmly at her.  “Thank  _ you _ .”

“For what?” Carmilla asks, furrowing her eyebrows together.

Laura’s smile grows.  “For always coming back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and also to those of you who provide feedback ^-^  
> As always, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! Stay awesome <3


	14. The Mail Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back to find a younger Laura waiting with a letter from Carmilla’s future self, offering a nudge. Carmilla decides to spend some time with Laura outside the house.

**November 2001**

 

“Hey,” Carmilla says carefully as she turns into Laura’s bedroom, fully clothed.  It’s early evening and she’s at her desk, doing homework.

“Oh!  Hey,” Laura says after jumping a bit.  “Sorry, I was gonna wait for you in the attic when I saw you hadn’t traveled back here yet when I got home from school, but I needed the computer for homework.”

Carmilla chuckles, looking at the clunky computer.  “It’s fine.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was still mad at you,” Laura says.

Carmilla frowns.  “Why would you be mad at me?”

 

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Oh.  Uh.  No reason. No spoilerish reason at all…”  She laughs nervously.  “Guess you’re younger than 27, huh?”

“I’m 26,” Carmilla replies.

“Noted,” Laura says, turning on a camera she has nearby.  “That means you haven’t done the first vlog yet.”

Carmilla shakes her head, sitting down on a chair Laura pulls over for her.  She doesn’t tell her she _has_ seen it, though.

 

Laura begins recording and clears her throat.  “Hi, lovely viewers! I’m Laura Hollis.  I’m ten years old.”

“I’m Carmilla Karnstein.  I’m twenty-six.”

“Wow, you’re a natural!” Laura declares proudly.  She turns back to the camera.  “It’s November 13, 2001.”

Laura stands up and goes to her bookcase, reaching between two books and pulling out an envelope.  She hands it to Carmilla, who looks it over.  The handwriting is definitely hers, and reads, “ _Laura - Please don’t open. And please give this to me the next time we meet._ ”

She flips it over and finds that it hasn’t been opened.

Laura huffs.  “I may have been mad at you, but I’m not rude and nosey.  Or… at least, not _that_ rude and nosey!”

Carmilla chuckles.  “Sorry, sorry.”

“But I _am_ curious,” Laura says excitedly, bouncing onto her bed.  “I’ve been waiting over a year to find out what’s inside!”

 

“Who says I’m gonna read this out to you?” Carmilla teases.

Laura narrows her eyes.  “Fine.  Next time you need someone to deliver your own mail to you throughout time, find someone else.”

“Doesn’t seem like a fair trade for me at all,” Carmilla continues, opening the envelope.

Laura rolls her eyes, but stays put on the bed.

 

“ _Hi, Past Me,_ ” Carmilla decides to read out loud.  She would just cut herself off if it ventured into spoilers territory for Laura.  “ _I know we’ve taken a firm stance against spoilers in the past.  But every iteration of us have all seemed to agree that this one little spoiler is fine, because it’ll give us the nudge we need._

 _Propose._ ”

Carmilla’s breath catches in her throat.

Her eyes scan the rest of the page and, while it seems to definitely be in spoiler territory for _her_ , it’s left vague for Laura’s sake.

 

“ _Propose, but do it when it feels right.  You’re gonna need to go back to the bookshare and find a copy of_ Worthy of Trust and Confidence, _by Kara A. McLeod_.  _Pretty sure you can figure out what to do from there.  It’s what we’ve always done and what we’ll always do because, no matter where or when, this is the only person who will always be your home.  She’ll always be your reason to stay.  She’ll always be the place you travel back to.  We’ve known that, we’ve always known that._ ”

Carmilla swallows hard.

“ _You’re scared reading this.  You’re gonna be scared doing it, too.  But she’ll be there for you, as she always is, to build you up and show you how strong you can be.  So… Propose._

_Yours,_

_Future You._ ”

 

Carmilla re-reads the note to herself a couple times before looking up and finding Laura watching her.

“You really love your wife, huh?” Laura says quietly.  “Or… Future Wife?”

Carmilla cocks her head to the side.  “You don’t seem surprised that I’ll be married.”

Laura laughs sheepishly.  “Spoilers?”

Carmilla hums.

 

Laura chews her lip and regards Carmilla carefully.  “Why would you be scared reading that letter or about proposing?” she asks gently.

 

“I guess… I don’t think I’m good enough to marry her,” Carmilla replies honestly.  “She’s so good, and strong, and kind.  And I don’t deserve that.”

“Yes, you do,” Laura replies.  “I don’t know her, but I do know you and you’re also good and strong and kind.”

Carmilla laughs at this bizarre situation.  “All I can say is… she believes in people.  She makes them better.  All I do is make things worse.”

Laura shakes her head.  “You helped me with the bullying thing after only meeting me a couple times,” she points out, patting the space beside her on the bed.  Carmilla obligingly gets up from her chair and sits next to her.  “And you watch TV with me even though you’ve apparently seen these episodes already in the future.  You’re my best friend for a reason.  You make _my_ life better.  Why shouldn’t that be something good?”

“You’re an awesome little creampuff, y’know that?” Carmilla replies.

 

Laura laughs.  “Nah, I’m nothing special.”

“You _are_ special,” Carmilla comments.

“There you are, being kind again,” Laura says lightly.  She hops off her bed and brings her camera over.  “Oh, this has been recording this whole time,” she realizes sheepishly.  She stops the video.  “Feeling up to another picture for the album?”

Carmilla frowns.  “You have enough of a collection for an album?”

“Well, it’s like, only four right now,” Laura says, “so I guess I’m _trying_ to start an album.”  She gets back onto the bed.  “Which no one else will see, obviously.”

Laura hands Carmilla the camera and she takes a couple-- one where Laura is hugging her, and one where they’re just sitting side-by-side.

“When were the other three taken?” Carmilla asks.

“September of 2000,” Laura replies.  She opens a small album and shows Carmilla.

 

The first photo is the Polaroid after Laura watched _Buffy_ with Carmilla in February of 1998.  The next set are ones Carmilla doesn’t recognize, but she did see during her quick scan of Laura’s future full album.

One is with a grinning Carmilla and a blurry Laura in motion.  One is of Laura crossing her eyes while Carmilla has an exaggerated scowl.  And one is of them simply posing regularly.

“We took these last time I saw you,” Laura explains.

“Guessing this is before you got mad at me,” Carmilla replies lightly.

Laura pouts.  “I know you haven’t lived through that yet,” she says, “but I’m sorry.  I’ll get over it eventually.”

“You’re not over it after a year?” Carmilla asks, confused.

Laura laughs nervously and shrugs.  “I’m not sure I’ll ever be over it.  But it’s fine.  Gotta learn to live with… certain things.”

 

“Hmm.”  Carmilla doesn’t know what to make of that, but she figures she’ll find out in a year or so.  “Well, in the meantime,” she says, standing up, “why don’t we fill up your album a bit more?”

Laura perks up.  “How so?”

“I dunno.  I never really had a chance to take pictures growing up,” Carmilla replies.  “Not, uh, too plentiful in the friendship department.”

Laura gasps, horrified.  “Let’s go do friend things!”

She grabs Carmilla’s hand and starts heading downstairs, before running back past her and heading upstairs to the attic.

There’s some rummaging and a couple minutes later, Laura returns with a light jacket.

“Don’t want you to get sick,” she says, tossing the jacket at Carmilla and dashing downstairs to grab her own off the coat hook.

 

Carmilla chuckles and follows Laura outside.

The crisp autumn weather feels refreshing and good.

 

“There’s a nice stand on that corner that sells great hot apple cider,” Laura says.

“Okay.  I’ll let you know if I feel myself traveling.  Lead the way,” Carmilla says with a bow.

Laura giggles and they make their way over to the front of the small grocery store.

“Hello, dear,” the woman at the stand says.

“Hi, Mrs. Lawrence.  Can I get two small apple ciders, please?” Laura says, pulling out a Lois Lane-decorated wallet.

The woman nods and fills up two cups out of the dispenser.  She hands them both to Carmilla, watching as Laura hands her money.

 

“Is this your baby-sitter?” Mrs. Lawrence asks, counting out the change.  “I’ve never seen her around before.  I thought your father didn’t trust strangers to watch after a young lady as capable as yourself.  Even when you had strep throat.”

Laura laughs weakly.  “No, my dad still doesn’t want anyone taking care of me.  Why do you think I’m the one paying for her apple cider?”

Mrs. Lawrence looks inquisitively at Carmilla.

“She’s wondering why a random twenty-seven-year-old woman is with you, sweetheart,” Carmilla carefully says to Laura.

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Oh.”

 

Mrs. Lawrence clears her throat pointedly.  “And the answer would be…?“

“School project,” Carmilla lies with ease.  “She’s recording people passing through the neighborhood.  The apple cider is my payment.”

Laura holds up her small digital camera as proof.

“Ah.  Okay,” Mrs. Lawrence says, seemingly satisfied.  “Well, if you have time after this project, feel free to drop by the house for dinner with us and Danny.”

“My dad’ll be home for dinner!” Laura beams.  “He’s gotten better at that.”

Mrs. Lawrence smiles at her.  “I’m very happy to hear that, Laura.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Lawrence,” Laura says sweetly.  “See ya!”

Carmilla gives an awkward wave and trails after Laura.

 

“You lie really well,” Laura whispers, even though they’ve crossed the street.

Carmilla scoffs and hands Laura her drink.  “I have told you I’ve done things like rob people, right?  You’re really surprised that lying is in my repertoire?”

Laura frowns.  “I didn’t mean it as an insult.  I meant… Good job with the quick thinking.”

“Ah,” Carmilla says, as Laura hands her the camera.  She snaps a quick picture of them together.

 

After Laura approves of it, Carmilla takes a sip from her cup.  “This _is_ some good cider.  I should ask Danny to steal the recipe and make it.”

Laura chokes on her drink and Carmilla looks at her in worry.

“Y-You know Danny?” Laura says between coughs.

“Oh, fuck,” Carmilla mumbles, continuing to walk.

Laura winces and runs to catch up.  “Language!  I’m only ten, y’know.”

Carmilla chuckles and doesn’t slow her pace. “Sorry.”  She takes another sip.  “Uhm.  Yes.  I know Danny.”

 

“You know her in my future, or…?”

Carmilla takes a long sip, and then keeps going until her cup is empty, slowing her pace.

“Quit stalling,” Laura huffs, still running to keep up with her.

Carmilla chuckles as she throws away the cup in a trash can.

 

“I’m not stalling,” she says.  “I was trying to get to these bushes to hide in.”

Laura looks at her in confusion before realizing what Carmilla means.

“See you in April 2002,” she says with a wink as she backs into the greenery.

Laura sighs when she hears clothes hit the floor.

“You totally _were_ stalling,” she grumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! And, as always, stay awesome <3


	15. The Proposals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking cues from her future selves, Carmilla struggles through a plan to take the next step with Laura.

**April 2017**

 

 

“ _ Has it occurred to you that the only reason you’re doing this might be because Past Laura told you you’re married at some point in your future? _ ” Mattie demands from her library branch manager office.

As much as Mattie was kicking up a fuss, Carmilla knew she was on board.  And as long as she had Mattie’s blessing, she would let her grumble near and far to her heart’s content. 

That doesn’t stop Carmilla from rolling her eyes. 

“ _ I heard that, _ ” Mattie snaps.

“Didn’t say  _ anything _ , sis,” Carmilla says, overly sweetly.

A book comes flying through the office door and lands by Carmilla’s feet at the circulation desk.

“ _ Go shelf yourself, _ ” Mattie yells.

Carmilla laughs and picks up the book.

 

It felt good to laugh.  It’d been a few months since she’d traveled back in time to receive that letter from her future self.  In order to try and keep any proposal plans a surprise from Laura, Carmilla had returned and lied about when she went.  

She didn’t like lying to Laura, but she figured it was for a good cause.  And she’d make up for it later.

 

The book her future self had told her to get wasn’t even released until March, and trying to be patient for that long was  _ difficult _ .  But Laura was worth it.

Except the nerves were settling in, and then she’d traveled  _ again _ last night—this time to the future.  And that visit was giving her even more anxiety than the letter did.

 

She hears footsteps approach.  “Budget cuts got you sweeping the floor with books, huh?”

Carmilla sits back up and narrows her eyes playfully at Laura.  “At this point they should just fire the branch manager to save money.”

“ _ You’re lucky I don’t have another book in here to throw at you _ ,” Mattie growls from inside her office.

“Probably better coz you might hit me instead,” Laura points out.

Mattie cackles.  “ _ You say that like it’s a bad thing. _ ”

Carmilla shoots Laura a wink.  “I’d dive in front of a thrown book for you any day.”

“My hero,” Laura says, leaning in for a kiss.

Mattie finally pokes her head out of the door.  “No, no, no-no,  _ no _ ,” she snaps.  “Not while Carm is still working.”

Laura and Carmilla both roll their eyes, and Laura sneaks a quick peck before giggling at Mattie’s scathing look as she sits down at a patron table.

 

After about an hour, Carmilla is putting on her coat as Laura wraps up work on her latest article.

 

Mattie waves goodbye from her office and gives Carmilla a thumbs up and a genuine smile.

 

“So, I know you said you wanted to visit the book store from our first date,” Laura says after a couple blocks of walking in comfortable silence, “but LaF was wondering if they could draw some blood from you for testing for a thing they’re working on for grad school.”

Carmilla tries to remain calm.  “Can’t we do this tomorrow?”

“They only have the lab booked for another hour this week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Carmilla says through gritted teeth.

Laura frowns.  “I just got the text as we were walking.”

“It’s a no,” Carmilla replies, not realizing she’s gripping Laura’s hand tighter.

“Oh--”

“I said, ‘it’s a _ no! _ ’” Carmilla shouts, making Laura jump.

Laura lets go of Carmilla’s hand.  “I was going to say ‘okay.’” She stares at Carmilla in bewilderment. “What is with you?”

 

Carmilla swallows hard.  “Sorry. I think the traveling last night into our future kinda threw me a bit.”  She laughs weakly after her lie. “Getting too old for this shit.”

Laura regards her with concern.  “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone to work today.  Wanna just skip the book store and go home?”

“No!”  Carmilla blurts out.  She clears her throat.  “No.”

“Oooookay,” Laura replies, more perplexed.

They continue walking as Carmilla tries to steel her nerves.  Laura’s now glued to her phone, clearly afraid to antagonize Carmilla further, and Carmilla can’t say she blames her.

 

“Wh-What are you writing about?” Carmilla manages to ask.

“An investigative article about some dangerous person with a mask goat taking women downtown,” Laura replies as she stuffs her phone back into her pocket.

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together.  “Oh. That… Sounds dangerous.”

Laura shrugs.  “The trails have all gone cold and the cops are starting to let the case fall to the side since the perp doesn’t actually do anything to the women.  But I’m not about to wait around for something to actually happen to the victims, y’know?”

“Wouldn’t be you if you did,” Carmilla comments.  “Just be careful. He’s dangerous.”

Laura gives her a suspicious glance and stops walking.  “How do you know it’s a guy and that he’s dangerous?”

Carmilla averts her gaze.  “Uhm… Spoilers?”

“Y-You learned something about this case when you traveled to the future?  He’s still around in 2019?” Laura asks, panicked.

“I never said any of that,” Carmilla rushes out.  “I-I’m just… Assuming he’s a guy. And he sounds dangerous.  That’s-That’s all. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Laura hums, totally unconvinced.

 

They’ve reached the book store, and a relieved Carmilla holds open the door for Laura.

Then she waits expectantly once they’re inside.  Laura looks at her, confused. “You’re the one who wanted to come in here, Carm.”

“Oh.”  Carmilla could jump into a hole right now and curl up into the awkward ball she is.  “Right.”

“Is everything okay?” Laura finally asks.  “You’ve been acting weird since we left the library.”

Carmilla swallows hard.  “I’m fine. Just… J-Just start walking and we’ll decide on a book together.”

Laura rolls her eyes and starts walking down an aisle.

“Wait, not that one,” Carmilla says urgently, following after her.

“I’m just going down this aisle to turn into the next one,” Laura replies, becoming increasingly irate as she walks through the aisles.

Carmilla laughs nervously.  “Good.”

 

Laura stops and spins, her annoyance reaching a peak. “What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with  _ you _ ?” Carmilla asks, her anxiety growing by the minute. “Just pick a damn book!  Not that difficult, sweetheart.”

Laura throws her hands in the air as she wanders down the row.  “Smug.”

“Hypocritical,” Carmilla fires back before she can stop herself.

“ _ Superior. _ ”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “Delusional.”

“Condescending!” Laura snaps, not letting up.  “Narcisstic, uncaring, nihilistic little--”

Carmilla trails after Laura.  “Tightly-wound, prissy, nerdy--”

 

Laura grabs a random book off the bookcase and throws it on the floor, flipping it open.

“God  _ DAMN _ it, Carm!”  She huffs, her eyes welling up with tears.  “Are you unhappy with me or something?” Her voice cracks.  “Did you not want to go home because you want to break up with me?”

 

Carmilla feels her blood run cold as she steps forward, cradling Laura’s face in her hands.  “What? No. Laura.  _ No _ !”

“Then why have you been acting all snippy and distant all night?” Laura asks wiping away her tears.

“Look at the book,” Carmilla says desperately.

Laura sniffles.  “What are you talking about, you idiot?”

“The book.  The one you threw on the floor.  Look at it,” Carmilla replies, letting go of Laura.

 

Laura lets out a long, shaky sigh and kneels down next to the floor.  Her eyes widen.

A notecard wedged in between the pages reads, “ _ Laura, Will you marry me? _ ”

Laura picks it up and re-reads it over and over, seemingly growing more and more confused each time.

Carmilla stands beside her, chewing her lip.  “I, uh… It’s...” She stares nervously at the floor.  “If you want to say no… If a future with me isn’t something you see for yourself… I-I’ll...”

 

Laura turns to face Carmilla, crying for an entirely different reason now.  “Carm, all I’ve ever seen in my past, present, and future, is us together. Whether it was as friends, or partners, or wives.  It’ll always be yes.”

She laughs through her tears and kisses Carmilla.

Then she pulls away and smacks her lightly with another laugh.

“You idiot.  You really thought I’d say no?”

 

Carmilla shrugs shyly.  “I know you’ve known since you were a kid that I’d be married.  And then last night I traveled to 2019 and Future Us told me that every iteration of us has gotten engaged.  B-But I still couldn’t help but… worry  _ this _ iteration of you might realize she’d waste her whole life waiting for me.  Plus waiting for months didn’t really help.”

“Our lives together won’t be a waste,” Laura says immediately.  “Waiting for you will always be worth it.”

 

“Laura, before I met you, I was so lost.  With losing my dad and all the traveling, I never felt understood or like I had a home.  And every step of the way, you’ve given me a reason to stay-- whether it was 2012, or 1997-- whatever,” Carmilla replies gently and sincerely before she gets down on one knee. “Coming home to you will always be worth it.”

She produces a small box from her pocket and pops it open, showing a gorgeous ring.

“I… know it’s not much.  But it...” She fiddles with it.  “It’s what my dad proposed to my mom with.  She took the ring off after he died and left it in the basement and I took it with me when I ran away.  I had it resized a couple months ago. It’ll be like two times I’ve ever felt like I was home, together forever.”

 

Laura holds her hand out and watches as Carmilla carefully slips it on. “Carm.  This is perfect. I love you so much.”

 

She pulls Carmilla to her feet and tugs her closer for a tender, long kiss before she admires the ring on her finger and looks down at the book in her hands.

“ _ Worthy of Trust and Confidence _ , by Kara A. McLeod,” she reads.

“Figured if it’s always worked for us in spite of whatever book we picked on our first date, might as well not deviate since we’re already a unique iteration,” Carmilla explains with a chuckle.  “Although, I  _ was _ just told to put it in the first location I thought felt right.”

“Carm, this is perfect,” Laura repeats with a smile.

 

With a wide grin, they walk around the aisle to find a crowd of people waiting.  As soon as they come into view, they begin applauding.

Laura giggles and looks to Carmilla for an explanation.

“I may have come in here before my shift to tell them to make sure no one else takes that book,” Carmilla mumbles.

“She was very insistent,” the manager comments.

Laura laughs harder and kisses her on the cheek again.  “I love you.” She pulls away and walks up to the manager, looking at his name tag.  “Thanks, Will.”

“Don’t mention it,” he replies.

 

Laura and Carmilla graciously accept congratulation wishes from everyone-- Laura more than Carmilla, who mumbles her gratitude shyly-- and take the book before leaving the one that Mattie had thrown at her earlier. 

“ _ Consider it a donation from the library _ ,” Mattie had told her when Carmilla first went to her with concerns about not being able to take a book from the apartment that she’d want to take to the bookshare without tipping Laura off that something was up.

As Carmilla goes to put that book in its place--  _ Twilight _ , which Mattie insisted the library could do without-- Laura fires off another text.

 

They start walking home slowly, holding hands as Laura admires the ring on her hand.

Laura suggests they take the scenic route and go through the park, and Carmilla readily agrees.

They turn a corner around a bush, and Carmilla stops short when she sees a small temporary arch set up, lit by candles.

Carmilla frowns.  “What the waxy hell is thi--”

She turns to find Laura down on one knee.

“Oh,” Carmilla manages to say.

“You, uh, are a really crappy liar,” Laura laughs.  “You only traveled back when you’re 26 once to see me, silly.  Once you left, I knew when you went. Plus you’ve been looking at me like you’ve had indigestion.”

Danny, LaFontaine, Perry, Kirsch, Mattie, and Sherman all step out from around the bushes and stand beside the arch on both sides.

 

“This ring belonged to my mom.  Also got it resized for you,” Laura says slowly.  “Which is why when you first asked my dad for it, he lied and said we lost it over the years.”

Sherman winks and both Laura and Carmilla laugh.

“I had no idea you had it planned for tonight, though,” Laura says, giving Mattie a pointed look.  “Which is why when you insisted we go to the book share, I had to tell them to wait to light the candles.“

She chuckles before she clears her throat and opens the box.  The flames from the candles make it-- and Laura-- glow, and Carmilla begins tearing up at the beautiful sight before her.

 

“Carm, I know our relationship has hardly been traditional.  But like I said earlier, having you in my life has always been something I’m grateful for-- as a best friend, as a girlfriend, and… even though I’m no time traveler with knowledge of the future, I know I’d be grateful for you to be my wife.”

Carmilla smiles and tears flow down her cheeks.

“Life has thrown impossible hardships at you.  And through it all, you’re still a kind, loving, generous woman.  And you stay. I mean, you leave-- obviously-- but you always come back.  And you stay.” Laura swallows hard. “And I know you already proposed to me and I already said yes but I just wanted you to know you always have a home with me.  Anywhere. Anytime. Will you marry me?”

 

Carmilla sniffles and her voice cracks.  “Yes. Yes.”

Laura grins and slips the ring on while their friends applaud and cheer, Sherman tearing up and sharing a pack of tissues with Kirsch, who’s been sobbing nonstop since he stepped out from the bushes.

Laura gets up and Carmilla pulls her in for a long kiss.

 

“It’s you and me,” Laura says softly.

“It’s you and me,” Carmilla says with a nod.

“It’s the two of you and the park security who I had to bribe to let us light these candles,” Mattie grumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late update! I didn't have my laptop yesterday and I don't have a computer and my iPad wasn't cooperating with the formatting so I figured rather than giving you guys a half-assed chapter, it'd be better to wait a day. Sorry!  
> But thank you all for reading and for all the feedback I've gotten so far. Please feel free to leave any more comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! Stay awesome <3


	16. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Carmilla and Laura prepare for their wedding the next day, unexpected visitors throw the ceremony into doubt. Luckily, the Universe lends a hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bit lengthier one for you guys ;)

**September 2017**

 

 

“Good morning,” Carmilla mumbles happily, walking up behind Laura as she sits at the kitchen counter.  She wraps her arms around Laura’s waist and leans her chin on Laura’s shoulder. “Almost-wife.”

Laura giggles and turns to kiss her on the cheek.  “Good  _ afternoon _ , almost-wife.”

Carmilla gives her a sheepish look.  “Who knows? Maybe married life will turn me into an early riser.”

“I highly doubt that,” Laura teases, laughing when Carmilla pouts.  “Why fix what ain’t broken?”

Carmilla grins.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Laura replies.  “Just make sure you’re on time for our wedding tomorrow.”

 

“I promise, no matter what, I will show up on time at our wedding.”  Carmilla looks at the time on her phone and frowns. “Might not be on time for our rehearsal dinner, though.”

Laura rolls her eyes with an amused snort.  “Lemme guess. You didn’t pick up your dry cleaning yet.”

Carmilla’s frown deepens.  “I suck.”

“No.  You’re amazing.  But you’d be more amazing if you went to get your clothes for tonight.”  Laura gently shrugs Carmilla’s embrace off and spins in her chair, handing her a thermos of coffee she’d already prepared knowing this would happen.

“Sometimes I think you’ve got time traveling abilities, too,” Carmilla huffs and grabs her wallet and phone before heading out the door.

 

Laura shakes her head in amusement and continues typing up her article.

 

Ten minutes go by before there’s a knock at the door.  Laura gets up to open it, already chuckling. “It wasn’t even locked, Carm,” Laura says, turning the doorknob.  “Although, I  _ was _ wondering how long it’d take you to realize you forgot your ticket and the keys--”  Her mouth hangs open upon seeing the two people at the door.

 

“That  _ does _ sound like Carmilla,” Lilita Morgan says, “doesn’t it?”

Elle nods.  “Yes. It does.”

Laura continues to gape at them.

“Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Elle asks.

“We’re not vampires,” Lilita comments to Elle, brushing past Laura.  “Besides. I technically did get an invite.”

Laura clenches her jaw as Elle follows Lilita in and she turns to face them, arms crossed.  “The RSVP deadline was weeks ago so clearly you’re not here to celebrate the joyous union of Carmilla Karnstein and Laura Hollis.”

“Does Carm even know you invited her mother to the wedding?” Elle asks.

“No.  Because her invite specifically said she would not be guaranteed a seat for attendance until we’d met and talked first,” Laura replies.  “And why the hell are  _ you _ here?”

 

Lilita sighs.  “I am not celebrating this madness for the same reason she’s here.”

“We’re here to talk you out of this entire charade,” Elle continues.

Laura stares at them.  “You’re kidding, right?  The wedding is tomorrow and I love her.  Nothing you can say will change either of those things.”

“We understand that,” Lilita says while Elle makes a gagging gesture.  “We’re here  _ because _ you love her.”

“What?” Laura asks, her confusion growing by the moment.

Lilita takes a seat on the couch.  “Love makes you blind. Trust me.” She clicks her tongue.  “Miss Sheridan has told me you insist that waiting for my daughter during her travels is no concern to you.”

“That’s true,” Laura says firmly.

“How about the effect traveling has on her?” Lilita asks.

 

Laura looks back and forth between Lilita and Elle.  “What are you talking about?”

“When she was living with me, I made sure she never felt like anything was permanent.  She was always aware everything was temporary.”

“Yes…?  And that was awful and scarred her,” Laura remarks.

Lilita scoffs.  “It made her stronger.  That way when she did travel, she wouldn’t have been lulled into a sense of false security.  She would always be prepared to fight for whatever she needed to survive.”

“It made her feel like she didn’t have a home!” Laura exclaims.

“I made her feel like she had a home,” Elle points out.  “Look how well that turned out.”

Laura is bewildered by their bizarre assessments of their behavior.  “You took away that feeling of home when you started dating someone else because you were afraid what a future with her would be like.  I’m not afraid.”

“But that’s what we’re here to talk about,” Lilita cuts in calmly when Elle starts to get ready for another heated argument.  “Sometimes, when Carmilla travels, it’s to see you, yes?”

 

Laura nods.

“But sometimes, she’s not so lucky.  She ends up somewhere unfamiliar. A destination she can’t control or pick.  And in those times, she has to find food and shelter. She has to be strong and scrappy.”  Lilita gives her a pointed look. “She’s only getting older. By offering her safety and warmth, she’ll forget how strong she has to be to survive in this world that tries so hard to stomp out the light in normal women to begin with.”

“You’re saying… that love is making her weak?” Laura blinks at her, appalled.

“It makes both of you weak,” Elle clarifies.

Laura looks to Elle.  “Oh, my god. That time Carm disappeared on you for two weeks and you broke up with her after-- is this what Carm’s mom told you?  Is that why you just dropped Carm without looking back?”

 

“She understood what it took me too long to understand,” Lilita declares.  “That Carmilla’s father was better off without me. Without me bringing a daughter into his life.  If he hadn’t settled down with me, she never would’ve been born. He wouldn’t have been on that road to go see some silly meteor shower with her.  Did you know he didn’t even like those silly things? He just went to them because she asked to see them. Absurd.”

“If he hadn’t died that night, he still would’ve died  _ somehow _ ,” Laura says, exasperated.  “You can’t live your life afraid you’ll lose the person you love!  Otherwise, what’s the point in any of it?”

Lilita’s expression turns cold.  “There  _ is no point _ .  Don’t you see, child?  Love will have its sacrifices.  It’s not worth it.”

“That is a very dangerous and bitter way to see things,” Laura replies through gritted teeth.  “It’s worth it to me.”

“Then you are a foolish girl,” Lilita snarls.  “Your stupidity knows no bounds.”

 

“ _ Get out _ .”

Laura turns to find a paling Carmilla standing in the doorway.

“Carm.”  Laura opens and closes her mouth several times before managing to stammer out, “H-How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.”  Carmilla steps into the apartment, hands clenched into fists and her body shaking with rage.  “Get out, the both of you. I never want to see either of you again, in any timeline.”

Lilita stands as Elle walks past Carmilla, indignant.  “Darling--”

“GET THE FUCK OUT,” Carmilla roars.  “How dare you talk to the woman I love like that?  Who the hell do you think you are? Get! Out!”

Lilita holds up her hands in surrender and walks briskly past her.  She hovers in the hallway.

“For what it’s worth, Miss Hollis… I appreciate the invitation to the wedding.  But I will unfortunately have to decline.”

With that, she turns smugly and follows after Elle.

 

Laura takes a few tentative steps towards Carmilla.

“Carm, are you oka--”

“You sent her an invite?” Carmilla interrupts, her voice low.

Laura swallows hard.  “I-- I… Look, I can explain.”

Carmilla closes the gap between them, fury in every movement.  “How could you.” She cuts Laura’s response off. “You knew how much she’s hurt me.  You know how much she still hurts me. And you invited her, to what should’ve been the happiest day of our lives, without even asking me?”

Laura shakes her head.  “Carm, please-- let me just--”

“NO!” Carmilla yells.  “There’s no forgiving this, Laura.  I--”

 

Her eyes widen.

“Fuck.”

Before either of them can say another word, she disappears before Laura’s very eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

**January 2020**

 

“Hah, that was so weird,” Laura’s voice says from behind Carmilla.

Carmilla turns to find Laura standing in a living room.  “What…?” she asks, still focusing after traveling.

“Uhm, Future You just traveled,” Future Laura explains, pointing at a pile of clothes on the floor at Carmilla’s feet.  “And seconds later, you appeared.”

“Oh.”  Carmilla quickly puts the clothes on.

Future Laura giggles and hands her a cup of coffee.  ”Good thing I didn’t hand you this mug before or we’d have another broken mug on our hands.”  She takes a sip from her own mug. “Although maybe you didn’t take it from me on purpose.” Future Laura settles in on a couch.  “I’m gonna assume you’re from the past, so just make sure in January 2020, you don’t take any mugs from me.”

Carmilla swallows hard, staring into the mug of coffee, but not drinking it.  She looks around her. “So we’re still together in 2020? Living in this house together?”

 

Future Laura’s eyes widen in realization.  “Oh my goodness. Right! You just traveled from the night of our rehearsal dinner.  Which means we just had… a huge fight.”

Carmilla nods, playing with the handle to the mug.

Future Laura sighs and mulls over what to say.  She takes a deep breath. “I know you’re furious.  I know that what I did was a betrayal, and maybe unforgivable, and that you’re probably gonna have to be angry at me for… a really long time.  And I know that you don’t want to listen to anything I have to say.  But you’re stuck in our future house for a bit, unless you wanna venture out into the cold January air, so here’s my pitch.”

Carmilla slowly looks up to find the same warm, kind look in Future Laura’s eyes that always ground her, no matter if they’re fighting or in different times.

 

“You’re stuck with me.  Even if you go back to your present and decide you don’t want to marry me, which is totally valid, this isn’t gonna stop the fact that you will continue to travel back to see me.  Or travel forward to see me. I mean, as far as I know, this is the only time we’ve ever done an actual swap of Carmillas, where you travel between two points of time seconds apart.”  Future Laura sighs. “You’re gonna go back and find out we got married. I’m not gonna get into how because-- spoilers. But that’s what’s gonna happen.”

Carmilla takes a slow sip of coffee but doesn’t speak.

“And when you go back to your time and find out we’re married… Don’t back out.  And not because I’m all righteous and looking for you to make good on a promise Future You made.”  She laughs weakly. “Because if the past three years has taught me anything, it really is that I have no business trying to be righteous.  I was so used to thinking I knew you better than you knew yourself because… for a long time that was true, in a way. In 2017, I didn’t realize that the things I did to uphold what I thought was right for you could cause so much damage.  When I sent that invite to your mom, I was so dead-set on what I thought was right that I was willing to do the one thing you never did to me-- withhold information without being upfront about it.  And it’s something I’m still working on, because I’ve become so used to protecting you that I forget we’re supposed to be in this together.  And I hope that you know that I never meant to sacrifice your trust.”

Carmilla drinks more coffee and continues to not speak.

 

“So here’s what I’ve learned in our time together,” Future Laura says. “The best thing that we can do with whatever strength we’re given is to help each other.  To be as kind to each other as we can.”  She lets out a long exhale. “When I sent the wedding invite to your mother, I never put the address of our venue. Just a date. With a note saying if she wants the location of the wedding, she has to come see me first.  So that I could talk to her and figure out if she’s deserving of having you in her life.”

Carmilla looks surprised at that.

“That’s why she showed up at our apartment that day.  I was never, ever going to give her a chance to ruin our wedding day,” Future Laura clarifies.  “I’m sorry I didn’t consult you first. I thought what I was doing the right thing for you, but I shouldn’t have tried to rush you or your mother into a reconciliation.”

 

With that new piece of information and the apology, Carmilla finally speaks.  “You’re a lunatic, you know that?” Her tone isn’t too sharp.

“Yes,” Future Laura replies simply.

“You’re insane.”

Future Laura chuckles softly.  “Quite possibly.”

“This isn’t a story, Laura,” Carmilla says.  “This is just life.  Where there are no heroes.  Where sometimes, evil just wins.  Full stop.  The universe doesn’t care whether you live or die, you just do or don’t.  Depending on whether or not you’re strong enough to survive.”

Future Laura nods, a certain darkness clouding over her eyes before she clears her throat.  “And I think we’re stronger together. It’s why our marriage works out. Once we both understand that and embrace it, our relationship is the stronger for it,” Future Laura says.  “Your mother and evil don’t win. We do. We’re the heroes.”

Carmilla scoffs and averts her gaze.  “I’m no hero.”

Future Laura hums.  “I was trying to be yours, y’know.  I just really wanted to be your hero coz you’ve always been mine.”

“I’m no hero,” Carmilla repeats.

“Have you ever considered that maybe “hero” isn’t one thing that one person was supposed to be by themselves?”  Future Laura asks gently.  “That maybe in this story you are my hero and I’m your hero. And maybe it’s all of our responsibilities to be heroes for each other.”

 

Carmilla looks up at that and her face softens.  “Maybe.”

  

* * *

 

 

**June 2017**

 

Laura looks down at the discarded pile of clothes, tears forming in her eyes.

She runs to her cell phone and calls her friends, barely managing to explain how badly she’d messed up.

Danny, Perry, LaFontaine, and Kirsch all show up within the hour.  Perry and Danny go to pick up Carmilla’s suit for the rehearsal dinner.

LaF and Kirsch sit through a few episodes of  _ Doctor Who _ with Laura to try and cheer her up, but she seems to dissociate through all of them.

 

By the time the rehearsal dinner is supposed to start, Carmilla still hasn’t returned.

Under some coaxing from her friends, Laura goes to it, but she looks miserable through the whole thing.

Sherman holds his upset daughter and does his best to reassure her that the wedding won’t be called off.  When it’s clear Laura isn’t feeling up for a rehearsal dinner, he takes care of the caterer and venue and tells her friends to take her home.

Mattie doesn’t show up, either.

 

The next morning, there’s still no Carmilla.  And Mattie is ignoring all of Laura’s calls and texts.

 

“How did she find out we fought?” Laura asks Danny, her voice raspy from crying all night.

“Maybe she traveled to some point in Mattie’s past and told her?”  Danny pats Laura’s leg as she sits beside her on the couch.

Laura sniffles.  “It’s possible. I don’t think she traveled back to any point in my timeline.”

“It’ll work out, Hollis,” Danny says gently.

The friends are sitting around the apartment, unsure of whether to cancel the wedding altogether.  Sherman is waiting at the venue for the decision to be made.

Laura lets out a sob and wipes her damp cheeks.  “I really messed up, Danny. I-I just thought I could make this right for her after all she’s done for me.  That having her mom at our wedding would… would...” She buries her face in her hands. “What if she hates me forever?”

“She won’t, dear,” Perry says.  “There’s still plenty of times she still has to travel back to see you-- see us-- in the past.  And she clearly loved you during those travels.”

 

“Yeah, you’re stuck with me, Hollis,” a voice comments.

Laura stares up in shock.  “Carm!” She jumps up and starts to hug her before hesitating.  “I-I’m so sorry. I understand if you hate me--”

“Hold the apologies,” Future Carmilla replies gently.  “I’m, uh… From 2020. And suddenly things are making a lot of sense.”

“Oh god, we’re broken up aren’t we?  We just never got married coz of how badly I messed up, and you decided to never see me again, but you’re nice to me when you travel back to my past because you didn’t want to punish me for something I hadn’t done yet, but now that you’ve traveled back to a version of me who’s done this horrible, horrible thing to you, you--”

Future Carmilla gently grabs Laura by the shoulders.  “Breathe, cupcake. Breathe.”

Laura stops talking and inhales shakily.

“We get married, okay?” Future Carmilla says.  “We get married and… well, everything else is spoilers, but.  We get married. We’re  _ getting _ married.”

“You sure as hell won’t be if we don’t get moving,” a voice growls from the doorway.

Laura looks behind Future Carmilla to see a grumpier-than-usual Mattie.

“Stop gawking at me and get in the damn car.  You two have a wedding to get to,” Mattie snaps.

 

 

“She traveled into my apartment right before the rehearsal dinner and tripped over my coffee table and broke my phone and also my router,” Mattie grumbles from the driver’s seat.  “By the time we drove to the library to figure out how to get to the venue and we got there, the place was empty.”

Future Carmilla clears her throat awkwardly.  “So then we were gonna come here, but then I realized that in my timeline, I was never at the altar.  I’d traveled to 2020, and Future You told me that Future Me had just traveled away. Which must mean Future Me must’ve been the one at the ceremony.”  She takes Laura’s hand and kisses it. “So we went to a 24-hour tailor and had them make the same exact suit for a reason you’ll find out later. Then we figured we should get some sleep before the big day and just see you in the morning.”

Laura looks down at their intertwined hands.

 

Future Carmilla sighs.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t even remember how upset you were after our big fight.  I just thought I’d try to make our big day as perfect as I could while I was here and… I should’ve come to you sooner.”

Laura stares for a little while longer before bursting into tears.  Her hysterical cries are only broken up by gasps for air.

“Laura, Laura,” Future Carmilla rushes out.  “Hey, talk to me,” she says with urgency, her voice soft and gentle.

“I-I’m the one who’s sorry,” Laura manages to sob.  “I messed up and hurt you and and I never meant to hurt you and I did this awful thing to you and I didn’t think it would hurt you but it did--”

Future Carmilla cups her face in her hands.  “Laura.”

Laura sniffles and stops talking.

 

“Look, I’m not gonna lie.  I was really mad at you for trying to insert my mother into my life without even asking me.  And I’ll probably be mad at you for a very long time.”

Laura lets out another sob.

“But I’ll learn to understand that you didn’t mean to hurt me.  That you wanted to be kind and give her a chance and see if she was worth it.  Because if you  _ really _ wanted to hurt me, you would’ve just sent her an invite to our wedding.  Not an invite to an invite to our wedding where she’d have to pass an interview first.”

“For what it’s worth,” Laura says with a voice crack, “she failed the interview.”

Future Carmilla laughs.  “That’s worth a lot.”

Laura gives a sobbed laugh.

 

“But as someone once told me in my timeline-- as someone is undoubtedly telling me in yours-- You and I are stronger together.  I’m your hero and you’re mine. And maybe it’s all of our responsibilities to be heroes for each other,” Future Carmilla says.

 

Laura chuckles, having finally calmed down.

“Maybe.” 

 

* * *

 

 

“Carm,” Laura says at the altar, in a white tuxedo suit matching Carmilla’s.  Their friends are sat around them in a small circle, with Sherman directly behind Laura and Mattie directly behind Carmilla.

Kirsch lets out a loud sob, making everyone laugh.  Danny hands him a tissue.

Laura clears her throat.

 

“Carm, when I first met you, I was this scared little girl.  And for most of the time I’ve known you, I’ve always felt like a scared girl.  But you always supported me, and helped me, and stood by me. At my side, like a partner.  You always listened to what I wanted and told me what you thought even when you knew it wasn’t what I wanted.  You’ve always been my strength and my future-- and my past and my present. And I hope...”

Her voice cracks and Future Carmilla gives her a small nod to continue.

“I hope we spend the rest of our lives together, for all time.  Because I can’t see a single second in this universe being spent without you in it.”

 

Betty, their officiator, looks to Future Carmilla.

“Carmilla Karnstein, you’re up.”  She frowns. “And by the looks of it, you’d better go quickly coz you look a lot older than the last time I saw you.  Although somehow younger than the last time I saw you...”

Future Carmilla chuckles, purposely ignoring her confusion, and looks Laura in the eyes.

“Gonna do my best to recite exactly what was written,” she says.  “Instead of improvising with some spoilers.”

Laura laughs.

“Before I met you,  before all this, I spent so much time trying to figure out how to keep myself safe.  Not just physically. I didn’t wanna risk hoping too hard and ending up disappointed, or loving too much and having too much to lose... Coz it seemed like that’s the lesson the world was trying to teach me, you know?”

Future Carmilla turns her note cards around.

“It actually says that, verbatim.”

 

Laura laughs again, doing her best to ignore Betty’s growing bewildered look.

“Except, now I think that … love is worth the risk.  And, it doesn’t matter how safe I try and make myself, there’s always gonna be disappointment and loss.  There’s no stopping that.  Not unless you give up before you even try.”  Future Carmilla swallows hard. “You taught me that. You taught me how to feel safe in the face of all the hardships life throws at me. You taught me that being strong isn’t something someone has to be by themselves. And you taught me what it’s like to live, not without fear-- but alongside it-- facing it.  And you’ve shown me what it feels like to be home. And, Laura Hollis, I want to be coming home to you for the rest of our lives. Forever. Let’s leap into Forever together.”

“Together,” Laura nods.

 

Laura and Future Carmilla look to Betty, who genuinely gives them a warm smile.

“By the powers vested in me by the Silas University Marriage Officiator Course,” she declares, “I now pronounce you, married.”

Everyone cheers as Future Carmilla and Laura meet halfway for a long, passionate kiss.

 

 

Later, after the first dance has been performed to  Alison Krauss’s “When You Say Nothing At All,” and dinner and cake have been served, Future Carmilla tugs Laura to a private conversation outside.

“I know I’ve always said no spoilers,” she begins.  “So I’ll try to keep it as vague as possible. First of all, when Past Me comes back to your time, she’s still gonna be pretty hurt and damaged and angry.  Less so than when she left, thanks to Future You. But it’ll take a bit for her to get past it. But you’ll help me in your own way. Just keep being yourself, okay?”

Laura nods carefully.

“Second of all.  We’re gonna go through a lot-- separately, and together.  You’ll always be there for me and… I won’t always be there for you.  And I’m apologizing now, but I know it won’t do a damn thing.” Future Carmilla cuts Laura’s attempted interruption off.  “You can insist that’s not true and you’ll always understand, and I think that’s true. But still. I’m sorry.” She sighs and shakes her head.  “And third of all. I promise, even when I’m not around for you, and you feel like that scared little girl who’s alone… You’re not alone. I’m always with you, no matter what.  I love you so, so much, Laura.”

Future Carmilla leans in and kisses Laura tenderly on the cheek.

“Buckle up, creampuff.  It’s gonna be a wild three years.”

 

With that, Future Carmilla disappears from sight.

 

Laura takes a few deep breaths and manages to go back in, and all of her friends give her knowing looks. She places the folded up suit on Carmilla’s seat at the wedding dining table.  Mattie raises a glass of wine in her direction in silence.

Danny pulls her to the dance floor and the group dances and shares laughs for another hour, before the venue doors open.

Carmilla walks through, dressed in her own suit.

 

The room falls silent before forcibly restarting conversations again as the buzz is clearly trying to spare Laura from being the center of attention.

Laura gulps and steels her nerves, hesitantly walking up to Carmilla.  “Hey.”

“Hey,” Carmilla returns softly.  “You… look gorgeous.”

“So do you,” Laura says.  She clears her throat awkwardly.  “So, uhm… we got married.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “I heard. Not quite sure on the how.”

“Guess that’ll be spoilers for you,” Laura teases lightly.

 

There’s a few seconds of uneasy silence between them.

“I’m still hurt you did what you did,” Carmilla says quietly.  “But… not enough to… walk away from us.”

Laura looks visibly relieved.  “I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Were those in your vows?” Carmilla asks with a small laugh.

“Guess you’ll have to watch Perry’s recording of the ceremony and find out.”

They both chuckle.

 

“Wanna have our first real dance as a married couple?” Laura finally asks.

Carmilla nods, tears forming in her eyes.

“And then tomorrow, we talk,” Laura says.

“Yes.  But for tonight… we waltz,” Carmilla replies, taking Laura’s hand in hers and leading her to the dance floor.

 

They hold each other and begin to whirl around the dance floor gracefully, beautifully in tune with each other.

“What a breathtaking sight,” Perry marvels as Carmilla twirls Laura and smiles while she giggles.

 

Betty cocks her head to the side and turns to look at Danny.  “I could’ve sworn Carmilla had shorter hair like, two hours ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! And, as always, stay awesome <3


	17. The Other Wife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla finds out what little Laura was angry at her for before 2001. In 2018, she finds a way to start forgiving Laura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of y'all smart cookies correctly guessed what little Laura was mad at Carmilla about...

**September 2000**

 

Carmilla looks out Laura’s attic window to find that, whenever she’s traveled to, the leaves are changing into autumn colors.  She looks around her and finds a pile of clothes, neatly folded. But no Laura.

She gets dressed and quietly steps out into the hallway.  She strains to listen for a few minutes before surmising that no one is home.  There’s a  _ Charmed _ calendar hanging in Laura’s bedroom, and assuming that Laura’s kept up with flipping it as the months go by, it indicates that it’s September 2000.

 

She walks around the bedroom, having never really had a great look at it.  There are a lot of  _ Buffy, Xena,  _ and _ Charmed _ paraphernalia, and pictures of Laura with her parents.  These pictures are still around in her bedroom later in life, and the more prominent ones are up in their apartment in 2017.  A few krav maga belts are proudly displayed on the wall.

Carmilla takes a moment to appreciate the simplicity of it all.

This Laura still hasn’t had to deal with Carmilla’s mother, or her angry ex.  She hasn’t had to deal with a vanishing bride on their wedding day. And she hasn’t been faced with a wife who’s doing her best to get over a lot of hurt and anger-- not necessarily directed at Laura, per se, but she’s still feeling the effects of it.

But Carmilla wouldn’t take any of that out on this young Laura.  Hell, Carmilla was doing her best not to take her anger towards her mother and Elle out on Laura in any time period.  But things were still tense in 2018.

 

Continuing to make her way around the room, she notices that Laura has a computer, similar to the one Carmilla’s mother had bought her back in 2000.  Except whereas Carmilla’s had remained largely unused, Laura’s was clearly utilized quite often. She runs her fingers over the fading keys and pushes the power buttons to turn on the monitor and the drive.

After realizing how spoiled she’d become with 2017’s technology and waiting what seemed like hours for this computer to turn on, she laughs at the desktop wallpaper - a very badly edited photoset of  _ Buffy _ .

Deciding not to go through any of Laura’s personal files, Carmilla simply goes to the internet browser - a very antiquated AOL application that starts the process of the noisy dial-up sounds.  By the time she’s finally logged in, she really only gets a tinge of nostalgia from looking at the user interface before she hears the front door open downstairs.

 

Footsteps go towards the kitchen and Carmilla quietly steps out into the hallway to see if she can figure out who it is.

“ _ Hey, dad.  ...Yep! I’m home from school.  So, Danny was wondering if I could go see her play in her baseball game later... _ ”  Laura huffs.  “ _ But why not? It’s not like I have strep throat anymore! And she said her mom could pick me up on the way and then drop me off after-- _ ”

A long sigh.  Carmilla slowly makes her way to halfway down the stairs.

“ _ Fine.  Bye. _ ”

Carmilla holds back a snort as she hears Laura slam the telephone receiver onto the cradle and stomp out of the kitchen.

 

“Bad time?” Carmilla asks with a smirk. 

Laura jumps and grabs her chest.  “Eep!”

“Sorry,” Carmilla says, chuckling, “guess it  _ is _ a bad time, after all.”

Laura shakes her head immediately.  “No! It’s great to see you! I keep thinking maybe I did make you up in my head.”  She runs over to Carmilla excitedly with a beaming smile. “It’s been forever.”

Carmilla holds out her arms and Laura runs into them, squeezing her in a hug.  If memory serves, it’d been over a year and a half since the last time Laura saw Carmilla.

“I’m as real as you, cutie,” Carmilla says.

 

“The last time I saw you, you didn’t gimme a date when you’d come back. You said it was the first time you ever traveled back to meet me,” Laura says, taking a step back.

Carmilla laughs softly.  “Yeah, that was about five years ago for me.”

“So weird.”  Laura frowns before getting over it within seconds with a shrug.  “Want a snack?” she asks, already heading back to the kitchen. “My sandwich making skills are  _ way _ better.”

“Sure,” Carmilla replies.  “Time traveling works up an appetite.”

Laura starts getting some ingredients.  “How long have you been here?”

“Couple hours.”

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Wait. Where were you upstairs for the past couple hours?”   
Carmilla grins mischievously.  “Your bedroom. Nice computer. And even nicer AIM screenname.  Laura2theletter?”

Laura covers her face, flustered.  “Y-You didn’t go through my files, did you?”

“Why?” Carmilla asks teasingly, a glint in her eye.  “Something there you don’t want me to see?”

Laura’s blushing profusely, flustered and dropping some cold cuts.  “N...N-No!”

 

“I didn’t look,” Carmilla swears.  “I promise.”

“C-Cross your heart!” Laura yells.

Carmilla laughs but does as asked.  “Alright, alright. Don’t have a conniption.  I’ll be quiet and let you focus on making snacks.”

Laura grumbles something like, “Stupid time traveler,” ignoring Carmilla as she watches her in amusement.

They settle down in the living room, quietly chewing as Laura pops in a  _ Buffy _ DVD.

“No spoilers,” Laura warns.

“Promise,” Carmilla replies.  She finishes her turkey, ham, lettuce, and cheese sandwich first, moving onto an apple and a bag of chips Laura has also supplied for her.

“So your dad won’t let you go hang out after school, huh?” Carmilla asks, peeling the sticker off the apple and sticking it to Laura’s forehead.

Laura giggles and peels the sticker off her own apple and puts it on Carmilla’s cheek.  “No. He’s afraid I’m gonna get kidnapped from the bleachers.” She angrily finishes off her sandwich.  “As if I haven’t been taking self-defense classes since I could walk!”

“Ah.  Krav maga, right?  Among others.”

“That one’s my favorite,” Laura nods.

 

She finishes her apple and opens her bag of chips before her eyes light up.

“Did you see my camera setup?”

Carmilla nods.  “Super high-tech.”

Laura beams proudly.  “I’m starting this thing called video blogging!--  Vlogging.”

She stands up and turns off the TV.

“Yeah, that’s still a thing in 2018--”  Carmilla suddenly remembers how the first video is of them in 2000.

Laura’s already up the stairs.  “Good! Then you already know the drill!  Let’s go!”

 

Carmilla rolls her eyes, amused, and ascends the steps slowly, accompanied the sounds of Laura dragging a second chair to the computer in her room.  By the time she steps into the bedroom, Laura’s fumbling with the camera, which had fallen over when she accidentally bumped her desk with the second chair.

“Ugh, do we have to?” Carmilla groans.

“It’s for posterity!” Laura insists, moving some wires around.

Carmilla sighs as Laura gestures for her to sit beside her.  “Posterity can bite me.”

 

Laura finally manages to clear the space up and picks up the camera.  It focuses on her and a slightly off-centered Carmilla and Laura.

“Hi, gentle viewers. I’m Laura Hollis.  I’m nine years old.”

She lightly elbows Carmilla, who sighs again.  The stickers are still on their faces.

“I’m Carmilla Karnstein.  I’m twenty seven.”

“The year is 2000,” Laura states in a matter-of-fact tone.  “ We’re filming this for Future Laura and Past Carmilla.”  She waves.

Carmilla continues to glare into the camera.

“Wave!” she demands, elbowing Carmilla again.

Carmilla scowls down at Laura.  “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she grumbles before she plasters on a fake smile and waves over-enthusiastically.

“Hollstein, out,” Laura says.  She fumbles with the camera and the recording ends.

 

“Hollstein?” Carmilla asks.

Laura nods.  “Sure! All the best duos are getting called things with their names mashed together.”

“Why is it ‘Hollstein’ and not ‘Karnlis?’”

Laura bunches up her face in thought and then bunches it up further in annoyance when she doesn’t have a good response.  “Coz it sounds stupid.”

“You sound stupid,” Carmilla fires back immaturely.

Laura stares at her, taken aback.  “How old are you?” she snaps.

“Weren’t you listening to me while we were recording the video?” Carmilla teases, taking the sticker off her cheek and putting it on Laura’s cheek.  “I’m twenty seven.”

“You’re impossible, is what you are.”

“So I’ve been told.”

 

Laura rolls her eyes and goes back to eating her bag of chips.

When she finishes it, she goes to the bathroom to wash her hands and returns.

“Mind if we take a picture together?” Laura asks.  “The only one I have of us is a Polaroid and I think that’ll fade over the years.”

Carmilla nods.  “Still pretty ‘ye olde selfie’ of us.”

“I still have no idea what that means,” Laura frowns.

Carmilla laughs and takes a couple pictures on Laura’s digital camera.  One is purposely taken before Laura is even ready. One is a goofy picture.  And one is a “normal” one.

 

“You know, I feel like you’re always asking me about my life.  What’s going on in yours?” Laura asks.

Carmilla shrugs.  “Nothing to spoil home about.”

Laura frowns.  “Friends? Family?  I mean, I know you told me about your dad...”

“Mother and I don’t talk. For the most part. I have a friend who’s also a time traveler and we work together at a library.  She’s like a sister to me. Her name is Mattie.”

“But you’re such an awesome person,” Laura frets, her frown deepening.  “All you’ve got is an estranged mother and one friend?”

Carmilla gives another noncommittal shrug.  

 

Laura doesn’t seem satisfied with the vague response, but doesn’t know how to proceed with getting a better answer.  Then something catches her eye.

“You’re married?!”

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “Wh-What?”

Laura points at Carmilla’s finger.  “There’s a part that’s lighter than the rest!  You have a tanline from a wedding band, don’t you?”

“N...No...” Carmilla replies hesitantly.

“Don’t lie to me!” Laura yells.  “You’re married, aren’t you?!”

Carmilla swallows hard.  “Okay, look, that’s sp--”

“Spoilers, yeah, yeah,” Laura growls, standing up. She huffs. “You know, I was hoping maybe you’d be married to...”

“To…?” Carmilla asks, trying to keep the teasing out of her tone.

“T-To no one!” Laura shouts, heading for the door.  She whirls around. “And don’t even think about following me!  Go away, Carmilla.  Go run and hide.  We’re done.”

With that, she storms downstairs.

 

Carmilla sits there for a few minutes trying to decide if she should follow after her. Figuring she should let the jealous little girl downstairs be, she tries to remember the next time Laura will see her.

_ Hope she’s not the vengeful type at this age _ , Carmilla muses.

 

She grabs a sheet of looseleaf paper and writes out a letter, then creates a makeshift envelope out of printer paper.  “ _ Laura - Please don’t open. And please give this to me the next time we meet, _ ” she writes on the envelope.

 

She goes to the AOL screen on Laura’s computer and clicks to write a new email.  She types in Laura’s own email address and writes,

“ _ See you November 13, 2001, creampuff. _

_ -Carm. _ ”

A couple minutes after she’s sent it and watched it pop up in Laura’s unread inbox, Carmilla vanishes from September 2000.

* * *

  
  


**January 2018**

 

“Hey,” Laura says, tossing Carmilla some clothes when she reappears in their kitchen.

“Hey,” Carmilla says, getting dressed.

It’d been few months since they’d gotten married, but Laura was still giving Carmilla space.

Carmilla settles down on the couch beside Laura, who’s been typing away on her laptop.  “How long have I been gone?”

“About a week,” Laura says simply.

Carmilla frowns.  “Yikes. Sorry.”

Laura hums.  “Not your fault,” she says with a small chuckle.

 

Carmilla takes the sight of her in.

Her wife.  Her wife, who’d taken on her cold mother and her vengeful ex.  Her wife, who’d waited years for her in the past, and waited for her in the present, and would undoubtedly wait for her in the future.  Her patient wife, who may have made a hurtful mistake, but did it with the noblest of intentions. And who’d been sincerely apologizing as often as she could ever since.

Her wife, the love of her life.

 

“Aren’t you gonna ask when I went?” Carmilla asks softly.

Laura looks up from her laptop, surprise on her face.  Up until now, Carmilla had kept conversation to a minimum.

“When did you go?”

“September of 2000.”

Laura thinks back and clicks her tongue.  “Ah. That awful day I found out you’re married.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “I swear I have never seen you so angry.”

 

Laura closes her laptop and shifts closer to Carmilla, carefully.  “Oh, you didn’t see me after I went back upstairs and found out you were gone and I had to wait over a year til the next time I could yell at you,” she says with a laugh.  “I spent most of that time imagining you were married to this ugly, mean woman. Warts on the outside, terror on the inside.”

Carmilla gives her a pointed, amused look.

“I know, I know,” Laura giggles.  “But it never occurred to me that someone as amazing as you would even deign to marry someone like me.”

Carmilla’s look turns sad.  “But that’s how I feel about you.  Like I married up.”

Laura gives her a shy look.

“And for the record, you’re not ugly or mean,” Carmilla adds.  “You’re kind and beautiful. And…” She sighs. “And months ago, you made a mistake.  But you didn’t do it to hurt me, and that’s a lot more consideration than most people have shown me in my life.”  She shrugs. “Plus, it was big of Little You to not open that envelope before the next time you saw me. You’re little, but you’re big.”

 

Laura giggles before adopting a more serious expression.  “I  _ am _ sorry, y’know?”  She swallows hard.  “I know I’ve been saying it, and I’ll keep saying it.  If I could go back and do it over, I’d fix this.”

Carmilla takes a deep breath, reaching out for Laura’s hand and pressing a tender kiss to it.  “Nothing to fix.”

Laura visibly relaxes.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Carmilla replies sweetly.

She leans forward and captures Laura’s lips in a kiss, smiling when Laura deepens it.

 

Carmilla slowly pulls away and stands up.

“Where are you going?” Laura asks, confused.

“Leaving you to go visit my real wart-filled, terrible wife,” Carmilla jokes as she actually goes to the kitchen to make some hot cocoa for them.

 

Laura throws a couch pillow behind Carmilla.  “You’re STILL as annoying as you were in 2000!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next chapter isn't the most fluffy thing in the world and I might do either a double update or more than one update in a week. We'll see what I have time for! ;)  
> But thank you all for reading and for all the feedback I've gotten so far. Please feel free to leave any more comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! Stay awesome <3


	18. The Things They Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Carmilla's traveling starts getting out of hand and she starts missing more and more of the present with Laura, they decide to take an important step towards a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit more angsty and expositional, so I'm giving y'all a two-for-one today! Double the update :D

**April 2018**

 

“Whoa,” Carmilla comments when she finally focuses after returning from traveling again-- second time this week.  “That was a rush.”

“When did you go this time?” Laura yawns, holding a toothbrush in her hand as she faces the bathroom mirror in the next room.

Carmilla walks up behind her and wraps her arms around her waist.  “2005. Watched Past Me go find Mattie.” She chuckles, giving Laura a peck on the cheek before letting her go..  “She had just moved out of her mom’s house. Or… had been kicked out. Still not totally clear on that.”

“She also got her abilities from her dad, right?” Laura asks, rinsing out her mouth and turning to face Carmilla.

“That’s what the assumption is. It’s not like her dad died.  He just.... Ran away. Didn’t even tell Mattie’s mom about his condition, or that Mattie might inherit it.”

 

Carmilla and Laura head back to their bedroom and Carmilla gets into bed first, shifting some of Laura’s work notes to the top of the chest at the foot of their bed.  She tries not to laugh at Laura clearly having gotten bored while working and doodling a giant goat carrying her away.

“That must’ve been weird, watching you meet Mattie,” Laura comments.

 

Carmilla sighs and fluffs their pillows.  “I was standing there, watching my fifteen year old self and… I was so angry.  So lost and hurt. I was traveling so often then. Every single time I lost my temper or got upset.  Mattie told me from the first moment we met that the secret to not traveling so often is to remain calm.  Stay grounded, instead of lose myself in the moment.”

Laura puts on moisturizing lotion and watches as Carmilla sighs.

“After I told Mattie I had met her in her future and she sent me to her past self for guidance, I asked how she could’ve gone through all that and not be angry.  Not be angry at her mom, angry at her dad, angry at the world.”

“And?”

Carmilla snorts.  “She told me that she didn’t see our condition as a curse.  She saw it as a gift. A gift that made us better than everyone else.  A gift that allowed us another two dimensions of travel, that blessed us to be able to see fleeting moments and people that had come and gone.  She said I should be grateful to be so lucky.”

“That explains her holier-than-thou attitude,” Laura comments, making Carmilla laugh.

 

“I guess I was just reminded how much I love coming home to you,” Carmilla comments, shimmying over as Laura climbs into bed and rests her head on Carmilla’s shoulder.  “How glad I am to no longer be that angry, scared, lost girl.”

“I’m glad you don’t feel angry, scared, and lost anymore, either,” Laura says gently, sleepily.

 

“I love you,” Carmilla whispers.

“I love you, too,” Laura mumbles, before drifting off to sleep with soft snoring.

* * *

**July 2018**

 

“Hey,” Laura greets as Carmilla blinks to adjust to familiar surroundings.

“Hey,” Carmilla replies.

Laura gets up from her spot at the dining room table and hands her a pile of clothes.

Carmilla frowns and looks around, confused.

“You’ve been gone for almost a week,” Laura explains.  “I wasn’t sure how long you’d be gone, and the furniture store wasn’t gonna hold our order forever, so Danny and LaF and Perry and Kirsch came over to help set up the new dining room table and the chairs and the couch and coffee table.”

 

“Oh.”  Carmilla starts getting dressed.

“Yeah.”

Laura goes back to her laptop quietly.

Carmilla walks around, looking at the new layout.  “I, uh, thought we agreed that we’d put the coffee table in front of the couch,” she says.  “Not next to it?”

Laura doesn’t bother looking up from her screen as she continues to type.  “Yeah, well, I didn’t want to mess up this one coz you wanna put your feet up on it.  We have an Ottoman for that.”

Carmilla walks over with a huff.  “But we agreed.”

“ _ No _ ,” Laura says pointedly, finally looking up.  “ _ You _ said you wanted it and I said we’d talk about it and then you traveled and reappeared a few days later and we let the conversation drop.”

 

“Fine.  Then, let’s talk about it now,” Carmilla says, pulling up a dining room chair to face Laura as she sits down.

“I don’t think we should.”  Laura clenches her jaw. 

“Well, I want to move the coffee table now.”

Laura closes her eyes and takes a long, deep breath before opening them again. “Carm.  if you put your feet up on the table, you’re gonna mess up the top of it. Please use the Ottoman.”

“It’s not a comfortable height,” Carmilla replies.

“Then slouch further down the couch.  You are not using the coffee table to put your feet up,” Laura says evenly.

“Why should I?” Carmilla asks.  “It’s my home too--”

“Because I paid for it, just like I’m paying for everything else!” Laura blurts out before she can stop herself.

 

Carmilla stares at her.  “Excuse me?”

Laura balls up her hands into fists a few times before patting the table, trying to regain her composure.  “I know we have a joint bank account, which I keep a spreadsheet for. But… You’re not working as many shifts as you were when we were dating.  And I pick up your shifts whenever I can. Which means right now I’m paying for most of rent. Your paycheck amount goes towards…  _ some _ of our meals.  The rest of everything else is coming from my salary.  Including these new pieces of furniture.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Carmilla asks, her tone a mixture of annoyed and hurt.  “You could’ve said ‘no’ when I asked for us to redecorate!”

“ _ Because _ \-- you seemed so excited and-and I love that you wanted to make this home  _ ours _ with stuff  _ we _ picked out  _ together, _ ” Laura replies exasperatedly.

Carmilla scoffs.  “What’s the point of having our home have stuff we picked out together if you’re gonna play the ‘I paid for this’ card?”

“I didn’t think you were gonna  _ mess up _ the stuff we picked out together by being gross!” Laura yells.

 

“Forget it.  You’re right.  We shouldn’t talk about this right now.”  Carmilla stands up. “ I’m gonna take a shower.  I smell like the basement of an abattoir. ”

“ Terrific!” Laura shouts as Carmilla walks away.  “See if you can scrape all of your hair out of the shower drain while you’re at it!”

“Fine!” Carmilla yells behind her.

“Fine!” she hears Laura scream back.

 

On her way out of the kitchen, she finds a “get well soon” card on the table.

Frowning in confusion, she opens it and finds a half-written note in Laura’s handwriting to her father.  After scanning it, she realizes Laura’s father’s been in the hospital for the past week.

She peeks behind her and realizes Laura’s reading medical articles online.

And if she strains her ears, she can hear some quiet sobbing start.

 

Carmilla feels her heart sink and she carefully walks back towards Laura.

Laura quickly wipes her face, fooling no one.  “Carm. I really can’t handle a stupid fight about a coffee table right now,” she says, her voice raspy.

“I’m so sorry, Laura,” Carmilla says gently.  She puts the card down next to Laura and swallows hard.  “He’s gonna be okay, okay?”

Laura lets out a louder sob as Carmilla holds out her arms, and Laura buries her face in Carmilla’s shoulder, crying harder.

“I can’t lose him too,” Laura manages to gasp out.

“I know,” Carmilla says soothingly.

She lets Laura cry for a while, until she feels her calm down and her breathing slowly return to normal.

 

“We can leave the coffee table where it is,” Carmilla whispers.

Laura lets out a sobbed laugh.  “You’re a mess. But you’re my mess.”

 

* * *

 

**October 2018**

 

“Oof!” Laura exclaims when she accidentally walks right into Carmilla.  She grabs her chest and lets out a wheeze before she lets out a happy gasp.  “Carm!”

Carmilla winces, still adjusting after traveling.  It was becoming a weekly thing, with her being gone for longer and longer.

Laura surges forward and hugs Carmilla.  She quickly pulls away. “Oh! Are you hurt?  I’m sorry I hugged you and that you’re hurt-- It’s just...”

Her voice trails off and Carmilla frowns, finally focusing on Laura’s face.  “No, I’m fine. But… Your hair… It’s… longer.” Her frown deepens. “Laura, how long have I been gone?” she asks softly, horrified. 

Laura chews her lip.  “A few… weeks. Plus a month and a half...”  She points at the decorations in the window. “Happy almost-Halloween?” she offers weakly.

Carmilla stares at her in shock.   _ Two and a half months?  _ She hadn’t been gone this long in years.

 

“Whoa, whoa,” Laura rushes out when Carmilla’s knees give way. She manages to catch her and hold her up.  “Sit down, okay?” She helps Carmilla to the couch. “I’ll get you some clothes.” She stops short on her way to the bedroom, realizing how it might’ve come out that she didn’t leave the usual pile around.  “I, uh, left them out for a couple weeks but then when I was carving the pumpkins with our friends I didn’t want them to get messed up.”

Carmilla doesn’t respond beyond a small understanding smile and waits for Laura to return with clothes.

 

“I’m sorry,” Carmilla says.

“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, Carm,” Laura says sincerely.

Carmilla doesn’t seem so convinced but doesn’t continue harping on it.  “How’s your dad?”

“He’s been out of the hospital and recovering nicely,” Laura replies, bringing over two mugs of hot chocolate.

“That’s great,” Carmilla replies, relieved.  She’d gone with Laura to visit whenever she could, and he had been on the mend the last she saw.

Laura gives her a kiss on the top of her head and goes back into the kitchen and brings out a plate of cupcakes.

Carmilla takes a few sips of the hot chocolate and a couple bites of a fluffy cupcake.  Her eyebrows are furrowed in thought and she doesn’t speak for a while.

 

“You okay?” Laura finally asks, worried.

Carmilla lets out a long sigh.  “We can’t keep doing this.”

 

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Wh-What?”

Carmilla turns, realizing in horror how her statement sounded.  “Wait, no-- I don’t mean break up or anything like that.”

Laura huffs and lightly smacks Carmilla.  “Lead with that next time.”

Carmilla chuckles softly before her expression turns grave again.

 

“But we can’t keep… pretending like my condition isn’t affecting you-- isn’t affecting  _ us _ ,” Carmilla says.  “I know you’ve always said you don’t mind waiting.  But it’s not just the waiting. It’s the fact that life is going to get harder and harder and I’m around for less and less of it with you.”  She swallows hard. “You remember my first birthday we spent together? In your apartment when I found the recordings of your past and my future?”

Laura nods.

“When Mattie and I were alone, she said to me that I’ve never known what it’s like to have to wait for someone to reappear in a void they’ve disappeared from because they traveled.  And I don’t know what it’s like to have to wonder for hours, or days, or weeks… months and…” Carmilla sighs. “Years… and wonder when they’ll come back.”

“So?” Laura asks.  “I don’t know what it’s like to travel through time and space.”

 

“But you’re the one stuck here, maybe not waiting, but wondering.  And you’re gonna keep living your life and doing things and... Our lives are progressing and I’m not even around for it. What if something big happens to you while I’m gone?”

Laura swallows hard.  “Carm--”

“ What about our life together?  Our future?  You’re just gonna give up on that?” Carmilla asks.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together.  “ Carm, I’m not giving up on our--  ”

“ Coz we’re supposed to have arguments over who does dishes, and cupcakes to celebrate big days at work, and grandkids.  What is that gonna look like if at any moment you look over and all you see is a pile of clothes with no idea when I’ll be back? ”

Laura blinks at that and swallows hard.  Her eyes well up and Carmilla regrets being the one who put those tears there.

 

**“** You think I don’t want those things, too? **”** Laura asks, her voice cracking.

“Please don’t give up on our life,” Carmilla whispers with a sniffle.  “We promised we’d do this together and I want us to do it together.” She’s started to cry as well.  “What if, far in our future, I come back one day and you’re gone?”

Laura’s expression softens.  “Hey…” She wipes her own tears and opens her arms.  “Come here.”

Carmilla leans against her and they both let out a small shaky breath together.  ”I’ll still be here. Okay?  I’ll still be here.” Laura squeezes her closer. “We’re gonna get your life back, okay?  And all those things we want, every single part we’re supposed to share in our long timelines together-- we’re gonna have them all.”

“But how?” Carmilla asks, her voice small.  “I feel like every time I come back, something changes and I’m gonna miss everything.  Like I’m a ghost.”

 

“I’m not giving up,” Laura says firmly.  “But like you said, this isn’t fair-- to either of us.  And… we can’t keep running away. We can’t keep pretending everything is fine and normal.  Not when the world keeps spinning way too fast even when you’re gone.”

“I even missed the last iPhone reveal,” Carmilla jokes with a sob.  “Even science isn’t waiting for me.”

 

Laura’s eyes light up.

“What?” Carmilla asks, knowing that look all too well.

“That’s it.  Science!”

Carmilla frowns, dabbing at her tears.  “You left me behind at the last station in this train of thought, cutie.”

 

Laura pats Carmilla on the arm excitedly.  “So a few weeks ago, LaFontaine started working at a new lab...  Where the bosses are still waiting to either find a project for them or for them to find their own project… on genetic conditions.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen.

“If you got  Chrono-Impairment from your dad, and Mattie got Chrono-Impairment from her dad-- it’s genetic! ” Laura surmises.  “Maybe it’s something they could look into!”

Carmilla nods, following Laura’s logic.  “It’s worth a shot.”

 

 

“Where did you guys even get the term ’Chrono-Impairment’ from, anyway?” LaFontaine asks, holding a notepad in their office.

“I heard it from Carm while I was growing up,” Laura explains.

Carmilla laughs softly.  “I heard it from Laura once I met her.”  She shrugs. “Didn’t have a name for it before then.”

“So it’s a case of ‘the chicken or the egg,’” LaF notes.  “Interesting.”

They tap their pen on the table a few times, pensive.

 

“Well.  We can run some tests.  Look for genetic markers.  And maybe if you have something of your dad’s?”

“Out of luck there,” Carmilla mumbles.

Laura clears her throat.  “Uhm. Well...”

Carmilla and LaFontaine give her an expectant look.

“Didn’t you tell me once that the first time you traveled, a Future You explained what was going on?” Laura says carefully.  “A Future You who had traveled to the car crash…?”

Carmilla lets out a long sigh.  “You’re right. And I haven’t done that yet.  So...” She grits her teeth. “Joy. Can’t wait for that travel adventure.”

 

“Okay, so when you travel back to meet Past You during... your first trip,” LaF says delicately, “I need you to find a way to safely hide a sample of his DNA.”

“Sure, no problem at all,” Carmilla comments sarcastically.

LaF and Laura share a look.  “It’s for science!” LaF declares.

Laura offers Carmilla a warm smile.  “It’s for us.”

Carmilla looks into her loving eyes and smiles.  “For us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	19. The Imaginary Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back and asks a young Laura for some advice. A trip to the park gets complicated.

**April 2002**

 

“Shit,” Carmilla curses when she realizes she’s traveled again.

“Watch your language, please!  Still pretty young over here,” Laura says, not looking up from her homework.

This time she’s traveled right to Laura’s bedroom.

Carmilla chuckles.  “Sorry. I just… Sorry.”

Laura stands up.  “I was just joking, Carm.  I’ll go get you some clothes.”

She leaves and reappears a little while later and goes back to doing homework.

“My dad’s downstairs,” Laura says, returning to her homework.  “So we’re gonna have to be quiet.”

“Gotcha,” Carmilla replies, finishing getting dressed.

She awkwardly stands there, unsure of whether to keep bothering Laura while she does her homework.

 

A couple minutes pass by before Laura realizes it’s quiet behind her and she turns.

“Oh, gosh, how long have you just been standing there?” Laura asks.

“Not long,” Carmilla shrugs.  “Just, uh… don’t wanna infringe...”

Laura shakes her head.  “Nah, it’s Saturday. I can finish it tomorrow.”  She stands up and goes to her window. “Dad’s doing garden work behind the house.  We can sneak you outta here and have some fun in the neighborhood if you want?”

Carmilla’s mind goes back to how, in her present, it’s just been lab tests and visits to LaFontaine’s office with Laura whenever she’s not at work.  “Sure. I could use some fun.”

 

Laura fetches a light jacket from the attic for Carmilla and they quietly head downstairs.

Carmilla ducks out the front door and listens as Laura heads to the door to the backyard.

“ _ Hey, dad, I’m gonna go get some air, okay? _ ”

“ _ What is that supposed to mean? _ ” Sherman asks.

Laura sighs.  “ _ I’ll be with Danny and her mom, okay? _ ”

“ _ Okay.  Call me if you need anything. _ ”

“ _ Yes, dad. _ ”

 

Carmilla pretends she didn’t hear anything as Laura meets her at the front door.

“You still need to tell me how you know Danny,” Laura insists as they begin walking down the street.

Carmilla chuckles.  “Persistent little thing, aren’t you?”  She clicks her tongue. “All I’ll tell you is Danny is still around in your future.”

“Wanna vague that up for me?” Laura grumbles.

Carmilla laughs again as Laura leads them into the park towards a hot dog stand.

 

“Are you hungry?” Laura asks.

“You don’t have to keep spending money on me,” Carmilla comments.  “I’ve done some pretty rotten things in my life, I don’t want to add ‘taking the allowance from an eleven year old’ to the list.”

Laura waves her hand dismissively.  “My dad gives me a huge allowance but I don’t spend it on much.  It’s fine.”

She buys them a couple hot dogs with all the fixins after she sends Carmilla to sit down at a bench to wait so they can avoid awkward questions like with the apple cider.

 

“So, how’s the future?” Laura asks as they start eating.

Carmilla laughs ruefully.  “It sucks, to be honest.”

Laura frowns.  “How so? Gimme the deets.”

“You know, only a dork says ‘deets.’”

“Then I guess I’m a dork,” Laura quips.  “Do you wanna vent, or not?”

Carmilla chuckles but shrugs.  “The chrono-impairment is really getting to my wife and I.  I’m traveling more for some reason than I was five years ago.  She barely sees me for days or even weeks at a time. Or more.”

“Ah, I know the feeling.  Too bad I can’t talk to her,” Laura remarks.

Carmilla manages to suppress a snicker.

 

Then an idea occurs to her.

 

“Laura… if you  _ could _ give my wife advice,” Carmilla says slowly, “what would you say?”

Laura chews thoughtfully.  “How long have you two been together?”

After considering whether this will be a spoiler, she decides she can answer.  “A little over five years.”

“And I assume she knows about you time traveling?”

Carmilla nods.

“Is she upset about you traveling?” Laura asks.

“No. If anything, I’ve always been more upset about it than she’s ever been.”

Laura hums.  “I’m not really sure there’s anything I can really tell her, then.  It doesn’t sound like she’s the one who needs advice or reassuring.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together in confusion.

 

“So you’ve told me you don’t think you’re good enough for her,” Laura says.  “Is it coz you’re not around?”

Carmilla tries to hide her shock from how intuitive Laura is with her, even at a young age.  “That’s part of it, yeah.”

“Well, speaking as someone who you’re not around for all the time, either,” Laura says carefully, “It doesn’t upset me that you’re not always physically here.  You always come back to me. And when you are here, you give me your full attention. So as long as you always go back to her and give her your full attention, you don’t have to worry you’re not good enough.  You’re here and you stay and that’s what matters.”

 

Carmilla chuckles.  “Laura Hollis, you are wise beyond your years.”

“Maybe I’m actually a time traveler, too,” Laura teases.

 

Her cell phone rings and she frowns at the caller ID.

“Hi, dad?”

“ _ WHERE ARE YOU? _ ” Carmilla can hear Sherman bellowing from the other end.

Laura winces.  “With… Dan--”

“ _ DON’T YOU DARE LIE TO ME AGAIN YOUNG LADY! _ ” Sherman yells.  “ _ I HAVE DANNY AND HER MOTHER RIGHT HERE BECAUSE THEY STOPPED BY WITH THE OTHERS TO ASK IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO THE MALL. _ ”

Laura and Carmilla share a frightened look.

“ _ This is why I installed GPS on your phone! _ ” Sherman growls.

“Wh-What?” Laura yelps.  “You did  _ what _ ?”

 

“ _ Why the hell are you in the park by yourself? _ ” Sherman demands.

Carmilla and Laura turn in horror as they hear angry footsteps approach.

Sherman is leading the charge, with Mrs. Lawrence behind him, and three young redheads. He flips his phone closed. “Who is this?” he shouts.

“Wait.  Isn’t this the random lady you used for your class project?” Mrs. Lawrence asks.  “The class project that apparently didn’t exist?”

Laura swallows hard as Carmilla looks over to her.

“Yeah, a lot can happen in half a year,” Laura mumbles in shame.  “Like me getting caught in our lie.”

“You’re useless without me,” Carmilla teases.

“Who. Is. This?” Sherman growls.

 

Laura looks over at Carmilla, who lets out a long sigh.  “My name is Carmilla.”

 

Sherman stares at her confused as if he should know what that means.  The realization dawns on him.

“Wait.  Wasn’t Carmilla the name of your imaginary friend when you were…”

“--Too old for imaginary friends?” Laura finishes.  “Yes. I was too old for them. Because she’s real.”

Sherman scoffs.  “You expect me to believe that this woman is a time traveler from the future?”

Carmilla throws up the “rock on” sign.  “‘Carmilla’ is shorter to say.”

 

“Look-- whoever you are-- get the hell away from my daughter,” Sherman snarls in Carmilla’s face.  Carmilla narrows her eyes in a glare.

“Dad, back off,” Laura says, standing up and getting between them.  “She’s my friend.”

Sherman laughs ruefully.  “It is my job to protect you.  That’s what I’m doing.”

“I don’t need this much protection!  Otherwise, what’s the point of the past bajillion years of Krav maga classes?” Laura snaps.  “What do you expect me to do? In the course of my lifetime you have “protected” me from polyester--”

“They have those carcinogens, they leech into your skin,” Sherman replies.

Laura rolls her eyes.  “Swimming holes.”

“The amoeba that eats your brains!”

“And my class trip to Clownville?”

 

Sherman narrows his eyes in a glare.  “That place is a cultural Chernobyl!”

He lets out an exasperated huff.

“We’re not talking about you eating candycorn for dinner--” he turns to face Danny, LaFontaine, and Perry, “--which you definitely also should never do.”  He turns back to look at Laura. “But we  _ are _ talking about you lying to me about where you’re going and who you’ll be with.”  He clenches his jaw. “One last time. Who is this?”

“I’m sorry I lied,” Laura says sincerely.  “But I’m not lying now. This is Carmilla, and she’s a time traveler.”

 

Sherman looks over to Carmilla.  “So she’s a mentally ill woman.”

Carmilla closes her eyes and sighs, trying to find patience.  “Can we speak in private?”

Sherman reluctantly nods and they step out of earshot of the others, including Laura.

 

“In early 1999, you had a health scare,” she says evenly.  “You hid this from Laura and from, well, everyone. Because she had just lost her mother.”

Sherman’s eyes widen.

“I know this because in the future, you have another health scare.  And Laura and I both find out while going over your medical history with your doctor.  And she was furious because for all those years, you let her believe you had just left her alone right when she needed you the most.  You let her believe you would rather work than help her grieve.”

Sherman swallows hard, but still seems skeptical.

“In 2000, you lost your job.  And you found two low-paying jobs to make ends meet.  And that’s why you weren’t home for dinner for months.  The only time you took time off was whenever Laura got sick”  Carmilla sighs. “She only found this out pretty recently in my time coz you gave us stuff for our home and she was going through some boxes and found old pay stubs.”

Sherman seems slightly more convinced, but isn’t verbalizing it.

“And about a month ago, you set up a will and life insurance policy for yourself so that if anything happens to you, Laura will be taken care of,” Carmilla says gently.  “Which she still doesn’t know about in 2017, but I accidentally overheard when I was visiting you at the hospital.”

Sherman takes a few deep breaths.  “You really expect me to believe you’re a time traveler?”

 

“That’s something you’re gonna have to see with your own eyes,” Carmilla replies simply.  “I’m not expecting you to believe anything. But I am asking you to trust me. I’ll be with Laura for a very long time.  I’m not here to hurt her or put her in danger. I care about her and I want you to trust that. Maybe not today, or tomorrow.  But at some point, I hope you do.”

They both look over at Laura, who’s currently taking pictures of them standing together.  She gives an awkward wave.

“Your daughter is the strongest person I’ve ever met-- also stubborn and impossible, but strong.   I don’t know how I got so lucky for our timelines to intersect like this in the past, present, and future.”  Carmilla treads carefully. “I know you’re hurting after losing your wife. I wish I got to meet her. And I know you’re scared you’ll lose Laura.  But...”

 

“I’m sorry, I-I’m not trying to make you worry, I just… I don’t want you to be so scared for me all the time,” Laura says from behind her father.

They turn to look at her.

Laura wrings her hand nervously.  “Dad… you can’t stop things from happening to me.  Life… happens. I shouldn’t have lied, but I promise, you can trust Carm not to hurt me.”

Sherman looks at Carmilla for a while.  “Okay. Okay. I mean, I’m not one hundred percent trusting this random woman I just met who I’m not convinced isn’t crazy but… Just. No more lies, okay?”

Laura nods.  “Yes. dad.”

 

Carmilla clears her throat.  “Well, this has been fun.” She pats Laura on the arm.  “Thank you for the hot dog. And for the lovely introduction to your dad.”  She steps into the bushes to hide from people walking by, but pushes apart two branches so Laura and Sherman can continue to see her face.  “It’s gonna be a while, cutie. But I’ll see you in January 2008.”

Laura’s mouth drops open.  “ _ What? _ ”

With that, Carmilla vanishes before their very eyes.

 

“That… That’s in six years,” Laura pouts.

Sherman blinks a few times, his mouth also open.  “Holy shit.”

Laura looks up at him and frowns.  “Guess everyone is done watching their language.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I just finished writing the last chapter of the fic and I'm drowning in my own feels right now. But that also means I can in good conscience start playing around with updates if they need me to offset a more boring chapter (but the next one is nice and fluffy so no worries there ^-^)  
> Thank you so much for the feedback here, on Wattpad, and Twitter! You can always chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! And, as always, stay awesome <3


	20. The Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla's disappearance right before a big day leaves Laura stranded-- until someone else shows up to save the day and make it a little more easy and fun.

**December 2018**

  
  


The aroma of pancakes and eggs and bacon wafts into Carmilla’s nose and she lets out a yawn as she cracks her eyes open.

“Good morning,” a warm voice whispers beside her.

Carmilla chuckles.  “Have you just been watching me sleep?” she mumbles without rolling over, her voice raspy from sleep.

Laura grins and climbs back into bed to kiss her on the cheek, propped up on her side by one arm.  “Maybe.”

“Creeper,” Carmilla comments, making Laura laugh.  “And what if the food burned?” she asks, lazily slinging an arm over Laura’s side.

“Then I guess we’d have to have sandwiches and cupcakes,” Laura teases.

 

Carmilla chuckles and stretches.

“Glad you’re well-rested,” Laura says, rolling off the bed. She heads for the door. “And you’ll be well-fed.  Coz we have quite the day ahead of us.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “Fuck.”

Laura turns with a frown.  “Wha--”

She’s faced with a pile of clothes on the bed.  And no Carmilla.

Laura buries her face in her hands.  “ _ Fuck _ .”

 

* * *

 

“I… don’t know,” Laura frets.

“I thought you were both supposed to be here today?” SJ, the real estate agent, replies.  “Buying a house is a pretty big deal. Surely you need her insight?”

Laura swallows hard.  “She’s traveling. Emergency.”

SJ frowns.  “Well, we can reschedule.  She really should be here--”

“Here I am!” a breathless voice declares, bursting into the house showing.

 

Laura stares at the new guest and cocks her head to the side in confusion.

“Welcome, Carmilla.  Glad you could join us in spite of your emergency trip,” SJ says.  “So, we’ve just done a tour of the house, but we can do another--”

“This isn’t it,” the person interrupts.  “This isn’t our home.”

SJ sighs.  “You don’t even want to--?”

“Nope,” she interrupts.  “Lemme see the itinerary for today.”

 

Laura gives SJ a polite smile and gently tugs her away by the elbow.  “Can we have just one moment, SJ? Thanks.”

In the next room, Laura finally releases her.

“What year are you from?” she asks in a whisper.

Future Carmilla grins.  “2020. How’d you know?”

“There is no way your hair grew that quickly from when I saw you this morning,” Laura says.

“I will always love Laura Hollis deductions,” Future Carmilla comments. Laura giggles. “Anyway, I’m here to help you find our home.  Or at least, that’s what happened in my timeline. And it’s a pretty amazing home, if I do say so myself. So why mess with that?”

Laura huffs.  “Kinda takes the fun out of house hunting together.”

Future Carmilla pats Laura on the arm.  “We’ll get our kicks some other way, buttercup.”

 

She leads Laura back to SJ.

“Itinerary,” Future Carmilla requests.

SJ looks inquisitively over at Laura, who nods, so she hands it over.

Future Carmilla scans the list before smiling at Laura.  “Well, cutie, you got your wish. We still get the fun of house hunting together.”  She hands the list back to SJ. “Do we have time for another quick tour of this house?”

 

* * *

 

“This house looks so pretentious that a bunch of philosophy grad students would rent it out on a college campus,” Future Carmilla remarks, flopped down on a chaise as Laura walks by, exploring the second floor.

“Sure this isn’t the house, then?  Sounds perfect for you,” Laura teases.

Future Carmilla chuckles.  “Definitely not it. Cross my heart.”  She pats the seat beside her and shimmies over so Laura can fit next to her.  “This chaise is nice, though.”

Laura hums, snuggling into Future Carmilla’s side.  “Think we can buy just the chaise?”

“Something tells me we can,” Future Carmilla replies.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, come on! This  _ has _ to be it,” Laura declares.

Future Carmilla watches in amusement as Laura bunches up her face in frustration.

“There’s a  _ solarium _ !”

“Sorry to say, but it’s not the house,” Future Carmilla replies.

Laura crosses her arms and narrows her eyes in a suspicious glare.  “How do I know you’re really from the future to help me pick our home?  And not from the future to annoy the crap out of me?”

“I annoy the crap out of you regardless of what year we’re in,” Future Carmilla points out.

“There’s even a  _ wine cellar _ ,” Laura laments.

Future Carmilla laughs.  “Do you want a little grape with that whine?”

Laura lets out a loud exasperated sigh and stomps towards the front door.  “ANNOYING!”

 

* * *

 

Future Carmilla watches as Laura steps into the next showing.  By now, it’s late afternoon. SJ looks worse for the wear. And so does Laura.

But as soon as she steps through the foyer, her eyes light up.  She turns to face a smug Future Carmilla.

“I-Is this…?”

Future Carmilla nods.  She walks past Laura and leads her into the living room.  “This is where we’ll have your annoying friends over. And your dad and Mattie.”  She gestures at a large space. “This will be the couch. And the ottoman.”

Laura steps towards the area, easily envisioning all of their friends lounging around and chatting, while Carmilla offers grumpy commentary on the side.

“And a coffee table.  But no feet will be put up on it.”  She winks. “Not when you’re around, anyway.”

Laura chuckles.

 

Future Carmilla leads her into the kitchen.  “This will be where we make batches and batches of cookies.  And you’ll make me coffee. And I’ll make you hot cocoa.”

She relishes the way Laura’s eyes are twinkling at the image in her mind.

“This is where we’ll have our lovely meals,” Future Carmilla continues gently as they step into the dining room.  “Where Kirsch will eat more sandwiches and chalupas than any human should be able to consume. And Mattie will probably guzzle down an entire vineyard’s worth of wine.  And where we’ll have holiday dinners with everyone, and regular dinners after work or relaxed weekend brunches for just the two of us.”

 

They head upstairs.

“Here’s where we’ll hold each other in bed as we drift off to sleep, talking about everything and nothing,” Future Carmilla says softly.  She leads Laura onto a small balcony. “And here...”

Laura admires the view.  It oversees a small yard and in the distance is a park.

“Here is where we’ll spend nights under the stars.  You’ll quietly work on compiling notes on your crazy dangerous stories and I’ll read my books.  We’ll have that large chaise where we can cuddle up by each other’s side and just… be.”

Laura’s breath catches in her throat.

Future Carmilla gives her a smug, pointed look.  “So, unless you wanna go trade all that in for a wine cellar or a solarium or that prissy grad school look...”

Laura shakes her head and laughs.  “Carm. I love this house. I love  _ you _ .”

 

SJ clears her throat as she slowly steps into the bedroom.

“Great timing, actually.  We couldn’t see it any earlier today because the owners only left about an hour before we came.”

Future Carmilla tugs Laura closer so she can whisper.  “And that’s why we could see the other places first. I saw the address but it was unavailable for showing first.”

SJ is busy flipping through some paperwork to hand to them.  “It is  _ slightly _ out of your price range...”

Laura deflates as she looks at the lowest offer.

 

“Mind stepping away again?” Future Carmilla asks to SJ, who obliges.

 

“Carm, there’s no way we can afford this,” Laura frets.  “I mean, we can do the down payment, but the subsequent payments...”

Future Carmilla tucks a strand of hair behind Laura’s ear.  “Money will be tight for a while, yeah. But we’ll be able to make all the payments. You and I are both gonna bring in more money as time goes on. At least over the new few years. I promise. Trust me, okay?”

Laura lets out a long exhale and looks around them.  Looks out the balcony. And looks back at Future Carmilla, into her loving eyes.  And she confirms what she knew as soon as she stepped through the doors. This was their home.

“Okay.”

 

Future Carmilla nods, as if to offer more security in this decision.  “We’re home, Laura.”

Laura smiles and squeals.  “We’re home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently eyeballing for the next update to have more than one chapter. But we'll see~  
> I’ve also added one more chapter to the fic coz I couldn’t quite let this universe go just yet ;)  
> Once again, thank you all for reading and for all the feedback I've gotten so far. Please feel free to leave any more comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be in a week! Stay awesome <3


	21. The Relationship Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels to find Laura struggling with a relationship in high school and offers some advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double the update, double the fun! (and double the feels)

**January 2008**

 

“Hey, stranger,” Laura says as Carmilla eyes focus on the attic before her. “Welcome to 2008.”

Carmilla tries and fails to hide her shock at seeing the oddest version of Laura she’s seen yet.

“Whoa,” Carmilla exclaims.  “You look… uhm...”

“The last time I saw you was six years ago,” Laura points out.  She’s in a faded Tegan and Sara shirt and ripped jeans, her usual lighter hair tinged with some darker brown streaks and also some blonde highlights.

 

“Diggin the hair,” Carmilla chuckles, putting on a black t-shirt and sweatpants.  “Wanna start catching me up on the past six years? If you want.”

Laura leads Carmilla out of the attic and towards her bedroom, seeming unsure of where to start.

“Let’s see you’re… what?  A sophomore in high school?”

Laura nods, pausing in the hallway.  “When was the last time  _ you _ saw me?”

Carmilla laughs.  “Spoilers.”

“Annoying as ever,” Laura comments.  “Before we catch up, let’s do this first.”

 

Laura pulls out a small handheld camera and motions for Carmilla to follow her.

The bedroom looks vaguely the same, with more posters than her younger years, clearly new and crisp.  If Carmilla remembers correctly, the more recent ones are _Charmed_ and _Veronica_ _Mars_ and _Doctor Who_.  And a lot more pictures of Laura and her friends.

Carmilla zooms in on one in particular, amused.

 

“Recording time!” Laura declares from across the room, having situated her camera on her bedroom desk.  “Hello, gentle viewers of the future. Last time we saw Carm was in May of 2002.” She tugs Carmilla into frame.  “So now, we’re in 2008. I’m seventeen years old. And Carmilla is...”

“Twenty eight,” Carmilla replies.

“Cool!  We’re getting closer in age,” Laura says.  She frowns. “Wait, what year were you born?”

Carmilla smiles, knowing where this is going.  “1990.”

“We’re only one year apart in your present timeline?!” Laura shrieks.  “In  _ my _ present timeline?!  In A _ NY present timeline _ ?!”

“Yep,” Carmilla replies simply.

A phone rings from inside the room, and Laura ends the video to answer it.

 

“Hey, Danny… Oh, that’s okay.  … No, really! It’s fine that you can’t make it.  Carmilla’s here, anyway. … Yes, she IS.” Laura looks at Carmilla, eyes pleading as she puts the phone on speaker. “Carm, say hi to Danny.”

Carmilla contemplates not saying anything, to mess with Laura, but… it’s Danny.  “Hello to Danny,” she says flatly into the speaker.

“ _ Oh holy shit _ ,” Danny replies, clearly surprised.  “ _ It’s the voice of the woman in your videos.  From the park bench! _ ”

“Yuh huh!” Laura declares proudly.

There’s a long pause on the other end.  “ _ Damn, she’s like really real? _ ”

“As real as you, ginger Gumby.”

“ _ How the hell do you know what I look like? _ ” Danny demands.

Carmilla snickers.  “Spoilers.”

There’s a voice calling Danny in the distance.

“ _ Alright, alright, Betty!  I’m coming! Geez _ .”  Danny sighs.  “ _ We’ll talk about this later, Hollis. _ ”

The call ends and Laura rolls her eyes. ”’We’ll talk about this later, Hollis,’” she mocks.

 

Carmilla chuckles and gets up, bringing back the framed picture that caught her eye earlier.

“So.  You and Danny Lawrence?”  Carmilla raises an eyebrow.  “How does one go from ‘being kicked out of her birthday party and she’s my childhood bully’ to ‘dating?’  Some kind of Stockholm syndrome?” she asks, holding up a picture of Danny, in a baseball jersey, kissing Laura’s cheek on a baseball field.  She omits any further knowledge.

Laura laughs.  “Well, we became friends in elementary school after the bullying thing.  Then we became best friends in middle school… Started dating at the end of it.  We’ve been together for almost three years.”

Carmilla hums, making an effort not to give anything away.

 

“But...”  Laura wrings her hands together.

“‘But…’?”

Laura shrugs.  “It feels like we’re together for the sake of being together, y’know?  Like we just did it coz it’s what we were expected to do after being friends for so long.  But it doesn’t feel like what I think a relationship should feel like.”

“And what do you think a relationship should feel like?” Carmilla asks.  “Coz I’m telling you now, it’s not like it is in TV shows, hon.”

“I know, I know,” Laura says dejectedly.  “But it’s like she’s not really supporting what I want and need, unless it also aligns with what  _ she _ thinks I want and need.  It’s as if she doesn’t trust me.”

Carmilla frowns. “She thinks you’d cheat on her?”

“No,” Laura replies.  “Danny just doesn’t seem to trust that I know what’s best for me.  She acts like  _ she _ does.”

“Ah,” Carmilla says, finally understanding.  “She tries to control you.”

Laura nods shyly.  “Is your wife like that?”

 

Carmilla does her best to keep a neutral expression.  “Look, I can’t get into the spoilers of it all,” Carmilla says.  “But to vaguely answer your question-- no. I mean, I think, before I met her, a part of her would have wanted to control me.  But she realized that fitting the world into the way she wants things to play out isn’t possible. That isn’t the way the world works.”

Laura doesn’t speak, and hums her understanding.

“Laura, I’m not gonna tell you what a good relationship has to feel like. I think that’s different for everyone. But if you feel like she’s trying to control you, then I can definitely tell you that’s  _ not _ what a good one feels like.  I haven’t had many meaningful relationships but I have had one really bad one, and one really good one.”

“What was the bad one like?” Laura asks softly.  Her eyes widen. “I-If you don’t mind me asking. No pressure.”

 

Carmilla chuckles.  “No, it’s fine.”

She clicks her tongue, trying to figure out where to start.

“When I hit puberty, my traveling was out of hand.  Instead of once every few weeks, it was pretty much all the time.  It was all over place and time, and not even in my own timeline where I could find somewhere safe.  I was always breaking into buildings. Stealing things. Having to fight people off to defend myself in strange areas.”

“Sounds awful,” Laura says.  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

Carmilla laughs dryly.  “The problem is, that feeling of constantly being on edge came back with me when I was in my own time.  Except for when I was with her. With Elle.” She sighs. “She was this transfer from England in my class.  I was never really in class coz of my traveling, but whenever I came back, she made me  _ want _ to go to school.  She was always surrounded by friends and was top of our class.  But she always made time to speak to me when she did see me and we’d laugh and it all felt a little less awful when she was around.  And one day, she asked me out.”

Her eyes soften at the memory.

“We were together for two years.  Because she was so popular, she never really questioned how often I’d disappear.  She just thought it was me being a rebel. She told me she liked the badass type of gal and, y’know, I didn’t mind being a badass for her.  I was different than her straight-laced, studious friends. And for a year and a half, I finally felt like a normal girl. She had her petty high school drama while I was traveling, and hearing her vent about it made me feel like I was a part of her world.”  Her eyes darken. “Mattie-- a friend of mine who has the same condition but learned to control her traveling more-- told me to let her go. That she wouldn’t understand me. Past, present, future- every version of Mattie tried to warn me.”

 

Carmilla swallows hard.

“One night, Elle and I were on a date.  And she said to me… ‘I love you.’ And I said it back to her.  I meant it. Every word and feeling behind those three words-- God, I meant every bit of it.”  She shakes her head. “But she didn’t. Coz I vanished right in front of her eyes. Traveled out of her house for a few hours.”

“She didn’t take it well?” Laura guesses.

Carmilla lets out a long exhale.  “When I reappeared, she was freaking the hell out.  Screaming I was a witch or some demon. That I’m a monster.”

“That’s insane!” Laura declares.

“I told her everything.  About my dad and the first time I traveled.  About what it’s like when I travel and all the things I have to do to survive.  That I can’t control it. And I told her how much I love her and how much she meant to me.  And she took it all in and eventually said she’d be willing to continue our relationship.”

Laura looks at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

“The thing is, when a girl says they want to date a badass, it never works out.  When someone is dating you because you check off some boxes, when someone is dating you for an image or an idea… It just means sooner or later, the boxes won’t be enough.  Because you outgrow those boxes. The image fades. And you’re replaceable.”

Carmilla clenches her jaw.

“For the next several months, we were good.  My mom and Mattie mocked me. Said she was using me and would break my heart.  She absolutely reveled in my stories about time traveling. I think it made me seem more cool to her.  But my travels got more and more frequent than ever before, and the amount of time I was gone was growing, too.  And one day, I returned to find out I was gone for two weeks. I went to visit her and....”

She awkwardly clears her throat, her hands subconsciously balling into fists.

“She’d started dating another girl.  Just like that. I went up to her asking for an explanation and she pretended I didn’t even exist.  Like the past two years had never happened.”

 

“If I ever meet her, I’m gonna punch her,” Laura exclaims.

Carmilla laughs at that and pats Laura on the leg.  “I have complete faith you won’t do that, sweetheart.  But thanks.”

“But how could she do that to you?” Laura demands, shaking with anger.

“I finally got an answer a few days later.  My mom and I had gotten into a huge fight and she threw me out.  I had nowhere else to go, so I went to Elle’s. I showed up on her doorstep asking to stay just until I found a place, and she...”  Carmilla’s voice cracks. “She called me a freak. A freak that no one could ever love or be with because all I did was burst into people’s lives and keep them waiting.  Waste their time and love by vanishing without notice.”

 

Laura frowns.  “You’re not a freak.  And that’s not what it’s like to have you in my life, at all.”

“Thanks, cutie.”  Carmilla gives her a sad, but grateful smile.  “Anyway, my point is-- sometimes the warning signs are all there.  And while it sucked while it was happening to me, I’m glad Elle and I broke up.  Because then I never would’ve ended up with someone who loves me for me, and supports me, and has my back.”

She tries her best to avoid telling Laura what to do, and instead just offer some advice.

“If you’re feeling iffy about Danny, then just be careful.  You don’t need someone controlling you or being with you because they have some image of you in their head that you shouldn’t have to live up to.  Okay?”

Laura nods and tackles Carmilla in a hug.  “Okay, Carm.”

Carmilla hugs her back.

“Whoever your wife is in the future, she’s lucky to have you,” Laura says sweetly.

“I’m lucky to have her. I don’t think I would’ve ever been able to tell this story and let all my anger go if I didn’t have her love and support.”

Laura huffs.  “Tell her to teach me her ways.”

 

Carmilla laughs.  “Time for me to go,” she says, holding tighter even as her body feels like it’s shifting out of place.  “See you in June 2009.”

Laura pulls away, eyebrows furrowed.  “June 2009? But that’s--”

Carmilla vanishes from sight, a smug smirk in place.

 

Laura groans and flops down onto her desk.  “...Senior prom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	22. The Dimwit Squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dealing with a Carmilla traveling to them from the past, Laura leaves during an argument, heading right into trouble. Carmilla has to turn to their friends to help save Laura.

**May 2019**

 

“Hey, Carm, have you seen the-- AH!” Laura yelps, grabbing her chest.

Carmilla comes running in, worried.  “Laura? What is i--” She jumps as she finds what surprised her.  “Oh.”

Past Carmilla turns, confused and naked.  “Uhm. Hi.”

“April 2017, huh?” Carmilla asks, amused.  “Had a little trip to see our creampuff back in November 2001?”

Past Carmilla nods, still slightly disoriented.  Laura leaves the room and returns with some clothes for her, which she takes gratefully.

“Oh, isn’t that when I gave you that note telling you to propose to me?” Laura laughs.  

“Yep,” Past Carmilla replies.  “Every time I think our lives and timelines can’t get any more bizarre...”

“Tell me about it,” Laura comments.  “The last time a Further Past You popped up, we’d just had our first kiss.  You had told me to freak Past You out so we’d have that heart to heart in the park, and I honestly think she peed herself a little in our living room.”

Carmilla chuckles and leaves, coming back into the dining room with three mugs of hot cocoa.  “What were you calling me for?” she asks Laura.

 

“Oh, I was wondering if you’ve seen my latest notepad for the whole Goat Kidnapping case,” Laura replies, taking a sip.

“You left it out on the bedroom balcony when you were working last night, babe,” Carmilla replies.

Laura’s eyes widen.  “Oh! Right.”

Past Carmilla is fully dressed and walking around the house now, taking it all in.  They give her some space, watching in amusement.

“Wanna see the upstairs, too?” Laura asks when Past Carmilla seems to have done her full tour downstairs.

“Sure,” Past Carmilla says, drinking her hot chocolate.

Laura and Carmilla take her upstairs and Laura grabs her notepad from her chair on the balcony.

 

“So, someone’s kidnapping goats?” Past Carmilla asks, looking out of the balcony.

Laura laughs.  “No. It’s some creep wearing a goat mask who’s been taking girls for years. I made a pun about it to my boss and she made me say it on air and ever since then the public ran with it.”  She sighs. “Recently he’s started physically harming his victims. I think he’s getting restless and is about to slip up.”

Her eyes widen.

“Oh, well now I see why you were so freaked out by how dangerous it was for me to pursue this,” she says to Carmilla.

Carmilla gives her a pointed look.  “Uh huh.” She looks at her past self.  “Let’s not bombard her with our problems, shall we?  This gal has a proposal to plan.”

Past Carmilla gulps.  “Yeah, so I… I guess I did actually propose?  Or did we not get married and just moved into a house together?”

 

“Oh, you proposed, alright,” Laura laughs and walks back to the bedroom, heading for the cardboard box with the old photo album and videos.

She opens it and roots around before pulling out a sheet of paper.

“ “ _ Hi, Past Me.  I know we’ve taken a firm stance against spoilers in the past.  But every iteration of us have all seemed to agree that this one little spoiler is fine, because it’ll give us the nudge we need.  Propose. _ _ Propose, but do it when it feels right.  You’re gonna need to go back to the bookshare and find a copy of  _ Worthy of Trust and Confidence, _ by Kara A. McLeod _ .   _ Pretty sure you can figure out what to do from there.  It’s what we’ve always done and what we’ll always do because, no matter where or when, this is the only person who will always be your home.  She’ll always be your reason to stay. She’ll always be the place you travel back to. We’ve known that, we’ve always known that. _ _ You’re scared reading this.  You’re gonna be scared doing it, too.  But she’ll be there for you, as she always is, to build you up and show you how strong you can be.  So… Propose. Yours, Future You. _ ”

“I still think it’s amazing you kept that,” Carmilla comments.

“Yeah, well, I figured Future You was gonna need it coz there was no way either of us were gonna remember the name of this book,” Laura says to her before turning to face Past Carmilla.  “When you go back to prep for the proposal, it’ll be in this box for you to refer to, okay?”

Carmilla lightly nudges her.  “Always looking out for me.”

“What would you do without me?” Laura teases.

“Here’s hoping I never find out,” both Carmilla and Past Carmilla say.

 

Carmilla laughs and looks at her past self.  “As far as we know, this is how every iteration of us has gotten engaged.  Who knows what difference that book we picked on our first date made to make your relationship special from mine, but it’s kinda comforting to know there will always be that one thing that ties us all together, right?  Although where you decide to put the book is all up to you.”

Past Carmilla nods reluctantly.

Laura steps forward and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  “You got this, okay? Just speak from your heart. The rest will follow.  I promise.”

With an endearingly loving smile from Laura, Past Carmilla visibly relaxes and lets out a long sigh of relief, handing her mug of hot chocolate to her future self.  “Thank you, Laura.”

With that, she vanishes from sight.

 

“You’re adorable when you’re nervous,” Laura giggles, returning to poring over her notes.

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “I am  _ not _ .”

“Are, too,” Laura taunts, flipping through her notes.

 

It takes a while before Laura realizes the air of playfulness is gone and she glances up to find Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed together as she looks at her in concern.

“What?”

“It may not have been outright dangerous to be working on this case when I proposed,” she says carefully, “but it’s definitely getting dangerous now.”

Laura frowns.  “Carm, I’m so close.  I can feel it. I’m not gonna stop chasing this just because it’s dangerous.”  She huffs. “I mean, all the women taken have been in this area. Either passing through or live here.  And until the last couple women showed up bleeding, the cops were just gonna let it go. I’m not gonna be like everyone else and just stand by while it escalates.”

“It’s not your job to  _ chase after this guy _ ,” Carmilla grumbles.  “It  _ is _ your job to report the story.”

“Yeah, report it as it  _ unfolds _ ,” Laura snaps.  “That’s not good enough here.  Someone has to  _ do _ something.”

Carmilla crosses her arms.  “And why does that someone have to be you?”

Laura cocks her head to the side.  “Who else would it be?”

 

“I’m just saying,” Carmilla growls exasperatedly, “I don’t want to travel back here one day and find out you’re one of his victims!”

Laura clenches her jaw.

“You  _ just _ disappeared for a week and a half, Carm.  My life doesn’t just stop happening when you’re not around.”

Carmilla opens her mouth, but Laura cuts her off.

“And you sure as hell don’t get to dictate what I do with my life when you’re not around.”

Carmilla scoffs.  “You can’t run head first into danger just because you’re bored I’m not around!”

Laura’s nostrils flare, but she doesn’t say anything.

 

Carmilla phone chimes and she looks down at the screen, seeing a reminder to leave to go to LaFontaine’s lab.

Laura stands up, fists clenched, but her voice even and calm.  “I’m doing this because I can’t sit around knowing girls are in danger and no one is doing a damn thing to help them.  It has nothing to do with  _ you _ disappearing.  It has to do with  _ my _ life.  Our whole relationship has revolved around yours-- when you travel back to see me, when you leave me, when you travel away from me-- and just for once, I’d like it to be about me and what  _ I _ need to do.”

Carmilla stares at her, feeling the truth sting in Laura’s words.  She swallows hard. “Laura, I--”

Laura stands up, her knuckles white as she clutches her notepad.  “Just… go to see LaFontaine,” she sighs. “We can talk about this later.”

Without waiting for a reply, Laura leaves and Carmilla hears the front door slam closed.

 

* * *

 

“I think we’re getting closer to figuring out a way for you to better control your Chrono impairment,” LaFontaine says, writing something down on a notepad and clicking on their computer.  “I’m not sure we can ever really stop your traveling, but it might at least help you control when and where you end up when you travel.”

Carmilla crosses her arms from across the office.  “That’s absolutely useless! I don’t give a crap when or where I travel to. I can’t keep disappearing from Laura for days or weeks or  _ months _ at a time!”

LaFontaine’s eyes are still focused on the computer screen.  “Well, Karnstein, I dunno what to tell ya. All I’ve managed to do is figure out that the travel destination is linked to your--”

“I don’t  _ give a fuck _ !” Carmilla yells, tossing the first thing she can find across the room.

LaF finally looks up with a frown and stands up, walking towards her.  They pick up the phone Carmilla threw. “Look, I know you’re frustrated…”

 

Carmilla huffs.

“I promise, Laur doesn’t blame you for not being here.”

“That’s not who’s doing the blaming,” Carmilla mumbles.

LaFontaine frowns.  “You’re angry at yourself.  For not being there.” They blow out some air.  “Yeah, she does always say you’re harder on yourself than anyone else could ever be.  Your mother included.”

Carmilla narrows her eyes at them.

 

“Okay, clearly I don’t have the ‘Laura touch’ when talking to you.” They sigh.  “I’m just saying, whatever aggravations you have with this process… Just keep in mind this is a whole new territory, and we’ve only been at it for like, half a year?  We still have a huge missing piece of the puzzle—your dad—and we all spend time with Laura when you’re not here, just like we always have, so she’s not totally alone. So when you  _ are _ here, maybe it’d be helpful for you not to do things like, I assume, starting an argument with her.”

Carmilla clenches her jaw, but looks ashamed.

LaFontaine looks down at the phone in their hand.  “Or, doing things like throwing your phone and missing her call.”

They hand Carmilla the phone and she frowns when she sees a voicemail message.  She plays it.

 

“ _ Uh. Hi. Carm.  I guess you’re ignoring me, since you should be done with the invasive blood-taking part of LaFontaine’s appointment.  Which… is fair. I shouldn’t have stormed off on you like that. It’s not like I’m a kid anymore. We’re adults and should be talking things through.  So I just wanted to apologize for that. And I know how you are and just wanted to say I’m not mad at you for traveling. I don’t think I ever could be.  But I know you’re probably mad at yourself and I’m sorry if I invalidated how you’re feeling. _ ”

Laura pauses and Carmilla just wants to reach through the phone and give her a hug and say she didn’t mean to miss her call.

“ _ Anyway, the other reason I left was I had a lead and wanted to catch the guy before his shift ended at the bookstore.  But I’m back now, so whenever you want to talk—no rush-- _ ”

The sound of the door unlocking and her dropping her keys with a yelp is followed by another pause, but this one is more unnatural.

“ _ Uh.  Hi. W…What are you doing here? _ ” Laura stammers nervously, her voice more distant as if she lowered the phone from her face.  “ _ Will you— _ "

There’s a loud rustling noise and then a shriek, before the loud  _ crack _ of a phone dropping on the floor.

 

Carmilla’s hands shake as she stares down at the phone screen, her eyes wide and unblinking.

“What was  _ that _ ?” LaF asks, horrified, having heard the whole thing from where they were standing.

Carmilla swallows hard, her mouth tasting like ash.  “I… I don’t know.”

 

* * *

 

“Okay, okay, take a deep breath, Karnstein,” Danny says, trying not to panic herself as the group stands in the house foyer.  “Someone start from the beginning. Please.”

LaF, Perry, and Kirsch look over at Carmilla, who’s clearly not about to speak.

“Carm and I were at her appointment.  She… missed a call from Laura. Laur left a message.  She was coming from the bookstore and was going into the house as she was wrapping up the voicemail and then it sounded like she was talking to someone but didn’t want them to know she was on the phone.”  They clear their throat awkwardly. “Then she screamed and that was it.”

Danny looks down at what Carmilla’s been staring at—Laura’s broken phone on the ground.  She kneels down and picks it up, trying and failing to get the cracked screen to light up.  Laura’s backpack has been discarded on the ground, as well.

“Was she still working on that Goat Kidnapping case?” Perry asks, picking up the backpack.

Carmilla nods, not trusting herself to open her mouth.

 

“There’s no books in here,” Perry notes.  “Just her notepad. Maybe she had a lead at the bookstore?”

Carmilla’s eyes widen and she meets LaFontaine’s gaze, as they seem to realize the same thing she does.

“She said she wanted to catch someone before their shift ends!” LaF recalls.  “What if this lead was a solid one and she--”

They cut themselves off, but not before Carmilla mentally finishes the sentence in dozens of horrifying ways.

 

“Sh…She’s gonna be fine,” a small voice says.  Everyone looks up at Kirsch. “I know I probably know Laura the least out of all of you, but I was her dudescort.  And the lil dude is way tougher and stronger and smarter than whoever took her. I don’t know much about things, but I know that.”  He walks towards Carmilla and nods seriously. “One time, my frat bros were calling her ‘book-sexy,’ and she took her textbook and swung it and knocked a guy out.  He dropped his Pilsner and fell on a bong. I had to pick her up and carry her away—partly coz I was afraid she’d keep hitting him anyway.”

Danny raises an eyebrow.  “And the other part?”

“Well, she’s short and low to the ground and she would’ve gotten high off the broken bong more than the rest of us,” Kirsch admits.

Carmilla chuckles softly at that and pats him on the arm gratefully.  “Thanks.”

“Ah, it was no big deal,” he says sincerely.

 

Carmilla lets out a shaky exhale and runs a hand through her hair.  “Okay. I-If the bookstore is our best bet at finding out an answer to where Laura was taken, then maybe that’s where we should go.”

She looks around at Laura’s friends, who all nod in agreement.

 

They all pile into Kirsch’s van and speed through the streets to the bookstore.  Carmilla bursts in first, followed closely behind by the others.

The person at the main desk jumps from the sudden intrusion.

“Have you seen Laura Hollis today?” Carmilla demands.  Most people in the neighborhood know her by name, and this employee seems to.

“She, uh, came in here earlier to talk to my manager before he left for the day,” the woman replies.

Danny crosses her arms.  “And, Natalie? Did she?”

Natalie nods.  “Yeah, she came in to ask him what kind of car he drives, and where he was on certain days … where he lives.”  She shrugs. “Some really weird questions, honestly.”

 

Perry frowns.  “And? Did he answer those questions?”

“Yes.  Well, sorta.  He told the truth about his car but then gave false information about his whereabouts, and then definitely lied about where he lives,” Natalie says.  “I thought that was more weird than her questions. But I’m new here so I didn’t pry.”

“But did Laura seem to realize your manager is lying?” Perry asks.

Natalie thinks hard before shrugging.  “If she did, she didn’t show it. She just thanked him and left.”

A coworker walks over to Natalie.  “What’s going on?”

“They’re asking about Laura talking to Will earlier,” she says.

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “Wa-Wait. His name is Will?”

Natalie and her coworker nod.

Carmilla turns to face LaFontaine, who also seems to be on the same wavelength.  “Shit,” they curse.

“What?” Danny asks.

LaF and Carmilla share an uneasy look before ushering everyone outside.

“Thank you, bros!” Kirsch calls out as he leaves.

 

“What is it, LaFontaine?” Perry presses when they’ve all made it to the sidewalk.

They clench their jaw.  “During the voicemail message… the last thing Laura said was… ‘Will you.’”

“At the time, I thought she meant it as, like an auxiliary verb,” Carmilla murmurs.  “But what if she meant it as…”

“She was saying his name for you to hear,” Danny concludes.  “Perry, open Laura’s backpack.” She pulls out the notepad.

Kirsch sighs sadly.  “He must’ve ripped the top pages off!  Jerk face butt head.”

 

“Is there a pencil in there?” Carmilla asks.

LaFontaine roots around the bag while Perry holds it, producing a small  _ Doctor Who _ pencil case and pulling out a pencil to hand to Carmilla.

She leans the notepad against the side of the building and lightly shades over the top page of the notepad, revealing the most recent writings.

“Whoa,” Kirsch exhales.

“Yeah. Laura’s taught me a thing or two through her sleuthing,” Carmilla explains.  “Pen?”

Perry hands her a pen.

Carmilla carefully traces over the voids in the graphite and then shows it to the group.

 

“William Luce,” Danny reads out before skimming the rest of the page.  “Looks like she triangulated where all the kidnappings have been reported and then… looked up all owners of cars matching the description given by the victims.  He’s fourth on the list. And the other three had alibis that clear them.”

Carmilla’s hands clench into fists.  “He lives less than a block away from us.”  She starts to head to the car, and Perry runs to step in front of her.

 

“Excuse me!  What are you doing?” she demands.

“To go get Laura,” Carmilla replies, bewildered.  “What else would I be doing?”

Danny scoffs.  “This man has kidnapped dozens of women over the past few years, and has been hurting his more recent victims, and you want to just walk up to his front door?  Are you  _ insane _ ?”

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a glare.  “He has Laura!”

 

“Which is why we need to be smart about this,” LaFontaine comments.  “If we burst in there with no plan and no idea what we’re getting into, Laura could get hurt--”

“She could  _ already _ be hurt!” Carmilla yells.  “She could be dead! And th-the last thing she’ll think is that I was mad at her and couldn’t be bothered to answer her phone call.”

Her voice cracks and the group falls silent.

 

A few moments pass by as Carmilla takes some shaky breaths.

“We love Laura, too,” Perry says softly.

“And we’re worried about her, too,” LaF adds.

Danny awkwardly pats Carmilla’s arm.  “Okay, how about this? You, me, and Kirsch do some recon.  If we don’t see anything, Kirsch and I will go to the front door.  You can continue to snoop and free Laura while we keep him distracted.”  She looks at LaF and Perry. “You guys hang back on the street in case he tries to make a run for it.  And be ready to call the police.”

“Sounds good to me,” LaF replies.

Everyone looks at Carmilla, who nods slowly.  “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

Kirsch knocks on the door excitedly.

“Calm down,” Danny whispers.

“Sorry!  It’s just… we’re being super in cart neat-o,” Kirsch replies enthusiastically.

Danny furrows her eyebrows together.  “Do you mean, ‘incognito?’”

He shrugs.  “Maybe!”

The door opens and Danny and Kirsch get as serious as possible.  The three of them had already managed to peak in through the windows undetected and saw nothing.  They figured if Will had Laura, he was either upstairs, or in the cellar.

He comes from a back area of the house, indicating the latter.

 

“Hello!” Kirsch greets brightly when Will opens the door.

Will looks annoyed.  “Hi.”

“We’re here to look into reports of a gas leak,” Danny says, holding up an ID card LaF quickly made in their lab.  Danny and Kirsch are also wearing lab coats. “Mind if we come in?”

Will looks over the card a few times and crosses his arms.  “Yes, I mind. I don’t smell anything,” he growls. “So I don’t think it’s necessary.”

 

Kirsch and Danny share a look.

“Some gases are imperceptible to the human nose,” Danny responds slowly, stalling.

“Whatever,” Will says.

“So, if my buddy were to light a match right now, you’d be confident we’re not all gonna burst into flames?” Danny asks.  “This isn’t a request.”

Will growls as Danny pushes her way past him, and Kirsch sheepishly follows suit.

 

Meanwhile, Carmilla had picked the lock on the back door, slipping in behind Will and giving Danny and Kirsch a thumbs-up. She heads straight for the basement door, trying to keep her exasperation to a minimum when this door is also locked.  Making quick work of this lock, she quietly opens the door and closes it behind her, before carefully descending the staircase.

As she turns out of the dark stairwell towards a dimly lit area, her blood runs cold as she stares in horror.

 

Laura is tied to a chair, bound and gagged.  Her top is off and she has several shallow cuts on her torso.  Her eyes widen when she sees Carmilla.

Carmilla rushes over to her, removing the gag and pulling out a small knife to start cutting away at the ropes.  She tries and fails not to notice the bloodied knife on a small table nearby.

“How?” Laura asks, her voice raspy.

“Danny and Kirsch are upstairs distracting him,” Carmilla whispers.  She manages to get through the rope around Laura’s ankles.

Laura winces when the next sawing motion makes the rope dig into her wrists.

“Sorry,” Carmilla apologizes softly.  “Hell… I’m sorry about everything.”

Before Laura can reply, there’s some loud thumping noises upstairs and both of their eyes widen.

“Free now, talk later,” Laura says in a hushed voice.  “Don’t worry about being gentle.”

Carmilla grits her teeth as she cuts faster and sees a small stream of blood form near Laura’s wrist.  She manages to get through all the rope and helps Laura off the chair. Laura’s knees give out, but she forces herself into a standing position, leaning a bit on Carmilla.

 

They carefully make it up the stairs, with Carmilla going in front at the top step, pressing her ear against the door.

“I don’t hear anything,” Laura whispers.

“That’s what’s bothering me,” Carmilla replies.  “I don’t hear Danny and Kirsch distracti--”

A shadow appears in the space under the door and Laura tugs Carmilla back as they head down the staircase quietly.

 

The lock clicks and the door swings open.

“Your friends thought they could do some half-baked rescue mission,” Will says as he begins descending the stairs.  “Dunno what their plan was. Don’t care. Locked them in a closet and I’ll deal with them later.”

He pauses at the bottom, seeing the empty chair.

“How the f--”

Carmilla lunges forward from the darkness from beneath the staircase, the ropes in her hands, and manages to wrap them around his ankles.  With a hard tug, she sweeps his feet out from under him and he lands face-down with a loud grunt. He growls and starts to push himself up, but Laura rushes over and delivers a swift, sharp kick to his face.

With a grunt, Will collapses forwards, eyes closed.

Laura leans on the stair railing, trying to catch her breath.  “W-We need to go. I couldn’t put all my oomph behind that kick.”

 

Carmilla nods, scrambling to her feet and helping Laura back up the stairs.  “There’s a closet in the kitchen,” she comments. They close the door behind them, unable to find the lock that was originally on it.  

After heading over and removing a chair propped up against the closet doorknob, the door flies open and Danny and Kirsch almost collide right into Laura, who is pulled back and supported by Carmilla.

“Oh,  _ shit _ ,” Danny hisses, seeing the cuts on Laura.

“Yeah,” Laura says.  “Can you  _ believe _ the bookstore manager prays to some ancient fish god named Lophiiformes and has been practicing to sacrifice young girls to it to keep the gates of Hell closed?”

Kirsch frowns at her.  “I don’t remember us reading about that religion in school.”

 

There’s a loud  _ bang, _ followed by retreating footsteps, and they all jump.

“The back door,” Carmilla realizes.

Laura starts to run after Will, but Carmilla lightly grabs her by the arm.  “No need to strain yourself running, sundance.” When Laura raises an inquisitive eyebrow, Carmilla smirks.  “You didn’t think the rescue party was just the three of us, did you?”

 

The group walks briskly, only to find an entirely unconscious Will sprawled out on the street.  A car is stopped right beside him, clearly having hit him.

Perry and LaFontaine come running around the corner.

“We got your signal you saw Will,” LaF says breathlessly to the driver of the car.  They’re holding a frying pan. “Although, y’know, when you’re done talking into the walkie talkie, you’re supposed to say, ‘over and out.’”

“Oh, Laura!  Thank goodness you’re okay,” Perry says, before pausing with concern at seeing Laura’s torso.  “Oh, my goodness. This  _ is _ the creep in the goat mask who’s been hurting girls, right?”

Laura gives Perry a small hug, minding the baseball bat she’s holding.  “Yeah. Not even sure how the goat mask fits into it. Maybe it was the only one on sale that day.” She pauses.  “Wait, if you two are out here, then who’s in the car?”

 

The driver’s door opens and Mattie steps out.  She crosses her arms and leans against the car.

“Good to see you’re still alive, Hollis.”

“Oh my goodness!  Mattie?“ Laura gasps out in relief.  “Thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah.  Let’s not make a big thing out of it. I said you probably didn’t even need our help, given how… capable you are. But we all know I can’t deny Carm when the little monster so much as pouts at me.”  She rolls her eyes. “Calling the cops, now. And an ambulance.”

Laura giggles and turns to face everyone.  “Thank you all so much.”

 

“Ah, it was nothing you wouldn’t have done for us,” Danny says.  “Besides, like Mattie said, seeing Carmilla scared and upset is like, really frightening.”

Perry nods.  “Terrifying.”

“More than usual,” Kirsch adds.

Carmilla narrows her eyes at them all playfully.  “I was gonna award some points to the dimwit squad but now I’m having second thoughts.”

Laura laughs but then holds her stomach.  “Ow.”

 

The group tries their best not to make Laura laugh—in vain—and soon enough, cop cars come to collect Will from the street and to begin checking out his house.  Reporters begin showing up and snapping pictures as Laura’s has a preliminary checkout by an EMT. Carmilla helps Laura into the ambulance before getting in with her and closing the doors.

“So… we should talk,” Laura starts awkwardly, her voice low so the EMTs in the front don’t hear them.

“Ar… Are you sure you want to do this now?” Carmilla asks gently.  “You’ve just been… y’know, kidnapped and cut up.”

Laura shrugs.  “They’re just shallow cuts.  Plus, it’s a pretty long ride to the hospital during rush hour traffic.”  She grins. “Unless you’d rather talk about Rube Goldberg competitions? Coz those are a thing, you know, which is just very, very weird!”

 

Carmilla chuckles and shakes her head.

“If you want to talk… I want to promise I wasn’t ignoring you.  After my appointment. I-I threw my phone coz I was mad at myself and then I missed your call.  And when I yelled at you earlier, it was also because I was mad at myself. And you’ve been nothing but validating of my feelings.”  She sighs. “I didn’t mean to try and tell you what you should or shouldn’t be doing. Cross my heart and hope t...”

Laura takes Carmilla’s hands in hers and presses a light kiss to them.  “I know, Carm. I know.”

“I thought I lost you today.  I was so scared. Like it was my dad all over again,” Carmilla sobs.

 

Laura feels her heart break and she pulls Carmilla in for a hug.  She feels Carmilla sniffle but relax in her arms.

“I promise, Carm… My next news story will be something light and fluffy.  Like, about displaced kittens or something.”

Carmilla lets out a sobbed laugh.  “With our luck, there’d be some shelter trying to sacrifice those kittens to some cult that worships puppies, or something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter was a bit short so I wanted to make this update worth it. I'm not quite sure if the update next week will be the same, yet.  
> I'm taking a small break from twitter but I just wanted to say that people reaching out to me on there to talk about this story was so unexpected. So thank you so much for the feedback on here, on Wattpad, and on Twitter! As always, you can always chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Stay awesome <3


	23. The List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla travels back to the last time Laura will see her before Past Carmilla meets her.

**April 17, 2010**

 

“Home for spring break?” Carmilla asks, finding Laura in her living room watching TV.

Laura squeals and bounces out of her seat, throwing her arms around Carmilla.  “Yep!”

Carmilla smiles and gives her a small squeeze before they both let go.  She sits down on the couch beside Laura. “Wild spring break you’ve got going on here,” she says dryly.

Laura narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “I’ll have you know that watching this new episode of _Doctor_ _Who_ is _very_ wild.”

Carmilla laughs and settles in, since it’s the middle of the episode.  “You’re right, you’re right. Always a wild time.”

“You’d better not spoil this one for me like you did with Buffy,” Laura comments, regarding her suspiciously.  

Carmilla hums.  “Isn’t this the one where the Doctor and Amy meet Winston Churchill in World War II?  And they find the--”

Laura clamps her hand over Carmilla’s mouth.  “Shh! Spoi--” She gasps and removes her hand.  “You got ‘spoilers’ from River!”

“Or you did.  Not totally clear on that,” Carmilla murmurs.  “But I’ll be quiet.”

 

It isn’t until the credits are rolling that Laura realizes Carmilla is staring at her with an endearing look.

“Wh-What?” Laura chuckles nervously.

“I was just thinking how the first time I met you, you also covered my mouth and screamed ‘SPOILERS’ at me, like River Song in  _ Doctor Who _ .  Guess some things really don’t change.”

Laura giggles.  “I heard it from you, first.”

Carmilla crosses her arms.  “We’ve really gone and fucked up this whole chicken-or-egg timeline, haven’t we?”

Laura laughs at that and shrugs.  “We’re keeping things interesting.”

“Yeah, I hear that’s the secret to a successful marriage,” Carmilla jokes without thinking.  She freezes when she realizes what she’s just said.

 

Laura’s eyes widen and she looks like she’s about to faint.  “Wh-What?”

“Fuck,” Carmilla curses.

“Oh my god!  Am  _ I _ your wife?” Laura squeaks.  “Or,  _ will I be _ ?”

There’s a squeak of a door hinge.  “Goodness,” a voice says.

Carmilla and Laura both turn to face Sherman.

“That was one helluva proposal,” he comments, still in shock as he takes off his jacket.

 

Carmilla swallows hard.  “I… I swear, when I actually proposed, it was way more genuine and thought-out and romantic, sir.”

“First of all, call me Sherman.  Since we will be family, apparently.”  He walks over. “Second of all, I certainly hope so.”

“Well, suddenly I understand why when I asked for your blessing in the future, you gave me a weird look and said ‘uh, yeah, of course,’” Carmilla realizes.

Sherman laughs and walks to the kitchen.  “I guess I have some time to become okay with my daughter marrying a time-traveler, huh?”

 

“You’re supposed to do something with a bookshare, right?” Laura asks, slowly recovering from the revelation.  “I, uh, still have the letter.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “In your little ‘Carmilla’ box, yeah?”

Laura blushes and averts her gaze.

Carmilla clears her throat.  “Speaking of the bookshare, there’s something we need to talk about.  Do you have some paper and a pen?”

Laura nods and heads to her dad’s small home office, returning with a notepad and pen.

Carmilla starts scribbling on it.  “So, while I’m spoiling things...” she says slowly, concentrating on making the list, “...this is going to be the last time you see me before our timelines sync up.”

She looks up carefully, trying and failing to brace herself for Laura’s horrified look.

Carmilla swallows hard and returns to her list before she loses her train of thought.

 

“The next time you see me, I won’t recognize you,” Carmilla continues softly.  “I’ll have no idea who you are, or that you know about my chrono-impairment.” She pauses her writing for a moment, waiting for her hand to stop shaking a bit.  “It’ll be… really hard on you, I imagine. Probably harder than I can ever appreciate.”

She keeps writing after that, and when she’s finished she looks up to find a wide-eyed Laura.

 

“I’ll be at a pretty low point.  Not the lowest, but definitely close to it.  I’ll feel like everything is hopeless, and like I’m a ghost drifting through time and space,” Carmilla says.  “And you help me get out of that.”

“I-I do?” Laura stammers.

Carmilla nods with a small smile.  “You do. You do it by just being yourself.”  She turns the notepad around so that Laura can read it.  “And you do it by doing this at the bookshare on 1698 Styria Avenue.”

Laura scans the sheet and frowns.  “I don’t get it.”

 

“When we first walk in, chances are I’ll go to this book first.”  Carmilla points at the first location listed, which reads, ‘ _ Annie on My Mind _ , by Nancy Garden.’  She runs her finger down the page.  “And then if you tell me to pick a different one, I’ll probably do,  _ ‘Ash _ , by Malinda Lo.’  And so on.” Carmilla taps the page for emphasis.  “As far as we know, this is every book I’ve ever picked.”

Laura’s confusion visibly grows.

“The first time we ever met. Ever. In any timeline.  I picked this book,” Carmilla explains, pointing back at “ _ Annie on My Mind _ .”  “That version of me came up with an idea.  I waited until I figured it’d be the last time I’d travel back to see you before you met a younger Me.  And I told Past You what book I had picked. And told you to have me pick another book.” Carmilla indicates “ _ Ash _ , by Malinda Lo.”

Laura nods slightly, slowly understanding.

“Ever since, every time we’ve met, I’ve chosen a different book.  I’ve spent the past six months in my timeline memorizing all the books from a list you give me, similar to this one, so that I can write it down for you now.  And you need keep this list for Future Me to memorize later when I meet you.”

 

“Okay, I think I get it,” Laura replies.  “But  _ why _ are we doing this?”

Carmilla chuckles, reminded that Laura’s inquisitive nature will always be endearing to her. “Before I met you, it was like I’d been stuck in a circle.  Never able to truly live life and move forward because I got thrown around my life-- stuck seeing some of what my future holds, or having to relive some awful, awful events of my past.  And by doing something I’ve never done before-- in any timeline, in any iteration-- it’s like I’m breaking that cycle. Who knows what impact one small decision has?” She smiles. “And there’s no one any Carmilla would rather break that cycle with, than with her Laura.”

Laura smirks through a blush.  “‘Your’ Laura?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you hate that possessive crap,” Carmilla sighs.  “But you  _ are _ mine.  To come home to.  To travel to. To embark on a whole new iteration with.  And I am yours, and always will be. In any time.”

She shrugs with a laugh.

“To be fair, we might never know if this little experiment will result in different outcomes.  But it couldn’t hurt to try, right?”

 

Laura laughs at that, too.

Her laugh slowly fades as her expression turns serious.  “So, this is it, huh? No more nostalgic trips for you to see me in the past after this?”

Carmilla gives her a smug look.  “I never said  _ that _ .  I just said this is the last time you’ll see me before our timelines match up.  Anything else would be spoilers.”

Laura rolls her eyes.  “Please, I think we’re a bit beyond that,  _ Future Wife _ .”

Carmilla snorts in amusement.

 

Then she wrings her hands together nervously.  “Laura… I just want to apologize now for how it’ll be the next time you see me.  It never really occurred to me how well we knew each other before then and how weird it’d be for to you see me and not see a shred of recognition from me.”

Laura averts her gaze for a little bit, lost in her own thoughts with an unreadable expression for a while.  Then she lets out a long sigh. “But that just means I get to know you all over again.”

Carmilla blinks at her in surprise.

“The Carmilla I’ve known has almost always had her crap together and this sounds like a whole new side of you I’ve never gotten to see.  And who knows? Maybe by the time we meet, I’ll be different, too.”

Carmilla gives her a loving look.  “Different in a good way. And the same in a good way, too.”  She smiles. “And yes, we get to learn all about each other in ways that these trips have never allowed us.  Leave it to you to find the reckless optimism in this.”

 

Laura grins.

“I do need you to promise me one thing.  And it’ll be tough on you,” Carmilla says carefully.

“What is it?” Laura asks.

“I need you to promise me that you’ll try to keep the knowledge you have about me to a minimum.  I’m pretty unpredictable when you meet me and… it might freak me out, in a bad way.”

Laura considers this promise and all the implications thoroughly before she nods.  “Yes. I promise.”

 

“Thank you.”

Laura looks shy as she clears her throat nervously.  “Carm?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we… happy?”

Carmilla chuckles softly.  “You mean, are we in a happy marriage?”

“Yeah.”

“You infuriate me sometimes with your naivete.  And I’m sure I infuriate you with my gloomy brooding.  And without giving you spoilers... Well,  I might not always like the choices you make, or the way things turn out, but I think it would be infinitely more tragic if you let that stop you from trying.  If you let it turn you into me. ”

Laura pauses before she gives her a playful nudge.  “Ah, you’re not so bad, Carmilla Karnstein.”

 

“Hmm, too bad that didn’t make it into your wedding vows,” Carmilla teases.  She pats Laura on the leg. “I’ll see you when I see you, cupcake.”

Laura fights back tears at the realization that this will be the last time for a while that Carmilla looks at her like this.

“Laura, remember.  We’ll be back to this level of familiarity one day, okay?  I’d never forget a cutie like you.”

With that, Carmilla fades from view.

 

The silence and void feels deafening.  Until her cries fill them.

 

A couple minutes pass before Sherman slowly steps into the living room, clearly having heard Laura crying.  He hands her a box of tissues. “You don’t have to talk about it,” he says gently as she blubbers some unintelligible words at him.  “I didn’t get to hear what you guys were saying, but I did get this.”

She manages to wipe her eyes enough to clear her vision and lets out a sobbed laugh.

 

Sherman is showing her a picture of Laura and Carmilla, both mid-laugh as they’re curled up beside each other on the couch.

And Laura realizes she’d wait a lifetime if it meant laughing together with Carmilla again. Her last words fill Laura with some warmth because, luckily, she wouldn't have to wait that long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knowing this one ends on a bit of a bittersweet note, I wrestled with maybe doing another two chapters in this update, but the next one is also not the most fluffy chapter ever, and the one after that one is... So I apologize in the meantime that it's not up to par with my usual cavity-delivering content. Hope you still enjoyed it!  
> Once again, thank you all for reading and for all the feedback I've gotten so far. Please feel free to leave any more comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> As always, next update will be in a week! Til then, stay awesome <3


	24. The Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla returns from visiting the worst moment of her life to Laura and an unexpected visitor.

**September 2019**

 

“Hey!” Laura Hollis greets from the couch when she sees Carmilla reappear right where she’d left-- next to the fireplace.

“Hey.”

Laura tosses a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants at her from across the room.  “When did you go this time?”

“1995.”  Carmilla’s voice is flat and she’s clearly still in shock.

 

Laura’s eyes widen and she gets up, walking slowly towards her.  “Oh, Carm. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, that was… odd,” Carmilla says, gesturing for Laura to sit down beside her on their couch.  “Which you know is saying something given… everything.”

Laura opens her arms and Carmilla snuggles against Laura, letting out a long sigh and feeling the tension drain from her body.

 

“It sucked more than I thought it would. Seeing Mini-Me have no idea what just happened, or that her dad’s dead.  Trying to prepare her for the tough life ahead of her… How damaged she’s gonna be when she finally meets you…”

“You weren’t  _ damaged _ when you met me, Carm,” Laura insists softly, brushing a strand of hair from Carmilla’s face.

Carmilla chuckles dryly.  “You would think that, wouldn’t you?  You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.” She gives Laura a small peck on the lips.  “Always seeing the best in me.”

 

“That just means the best is already there,” Laura says sweetly.  “You just need a stubborn creampuff to show you where it is.”

“I’m serious,” Carmilla laughs softly.  “Seeing that scared girl I was… Knowing the crap she’s gonna have to face with her mother, and the time-traveling.  You saved me. You’re my hero.”

“And you’re mine,” Laura replies.

Carmilla smiles and as Laura gives her a longer, deeper kiss this time.  “So you’ve said.” She frowns. “How long was I gone this time?”

Laura shifts awkwardly.  “A couple… months…”

Carmilla’s eyes widen in horror and she swallows hard.  “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, frustrated. “These stupid treatments aren’t doing anything.”

 

Laura giggles and gives her another peck on the lips.  “We’re gonna be okay, Carm. We’re gonna grow old in this nice ol’ house together.  It’s gonna be full of love and laughter. Time travel can’t do anything bad to us.”

Carmilla hums.  “Promise?”

Laura nods.  “Promise.”

 

The doorbell rings and Laura laughs when Carmilla rolls her eyes into the void before she gets up to answer it.  Laura looks out of the peephole before frowning and carefully opening the door.

“What do  _ you _ want?”

Lilita Morgan scoffs.  “Good day to you, too, dear.”

“It’s been two years and the last time I saw you, you called Carm and I weak for loving each other. And used a few other choice adjectives. Right before our wedding. So.  Excuse me if I skip the pleasantries,” Laura growls.

 

“ _ Please tell me you didn’t send my mother another invite to our home without discussing it with me first, _ ” Carmilla’s voice laments from behind Laura.

“No, I learned my lesson last time.  She just showed up,” Laura replies without taking her eyes of Lilita.

“Right, of course.”  Carmilla turns her attention to her mother with an insincere beaming smile.  “It’s been swell, mother, but I need you to go, now. We’ve got business to attend to.” 

 

Lilita crosses her arms.  “Look, I only came here to see how you and Laura were doing following the Goat Kidnapper abduction and torture.  No need for all this animosity.”

“I think this animosity is perfectly warranted and might even be on the light side,” Carmilla snarls.

“But the concern is appreciated,” Laura adds politely before she notices something and looks over at Carmilla in concern.  “Oh, god, Carm! You’re still shivering. Sit by the fireplace.”

She ushers Carmilla back to the couch and throws a blanket around Carmilla, then runs off to the kitchen.

 

“I thought I heard through the grapevine that Laura’s college scientist friend was looking into your… condition,” Lilita comments, walking into the house and closing the door behind her.

“You’re still here?” Carmilla snaps dryly.

 

Laura returns with a mug of hot cocoa for Carmilla.  “Here.” When she sees that Carmilla’s hands are still shaking, she holds the mug and a straw in place for her to sip from.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Carmilla sighs happily after feeling the warmth fill her body.  She manages to take the mug from Laura and rests it in her lap.

“Where did you pop off to this time?” Lilita asks.

Carmilla averts her gaze into her mug, staring at it intently.

Laura’s narrows her eyes at Lilita.  “She went to 1995.”

Carmilla gives a small, sad nod.

“Good lord,” Lilita exhales behind them, understanding the implication.  “You… You watched Samuel...”

 

“I was on the side of the road and didn’t know where or when I was,” Carmilla says, her voice small and scared.  She still won’t look at anyone. “I was collecting some of whatever I could find from someone who had left on their clothesline to dry when I saw the car skid on the road.  It didn’t even occur to me whose car it was when I ran over. And by the time I got there, Past Me had already traveled away, and my dad was...”

Laura swallows hard.  “Oh, Carm...”

Carmilla clears her throat and sniffles as she puts her mug down on the coffee table.  “I used the window of time to get some of his… DNA on a small cloth and folded it and hid it in the dirt under some bushes before Past Me traveled back.”

Laura looks at her with sad eyes.  “Do you want me to hold you?” she asks.

Carmilla nods and dives forward into Laura’s open arms, sighing in content as Laura embraces her nice and tight.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Laura whispers, rubbing slow soothing circles on her back.  “At least it’s finally over and you won’t have to go back to that moment ever again.”

“And Franken-Ginger can use the sample to fix me,” Carmilla sighs.  “As much as they can, anyway.”

Laura buries a kiss in her hair.  “You don’t need fixing, Carm. You’re not broken and there’s nothing wrong with you. You just need help, and there’s no shame in that.”

Carmilla lets out another sigh of content, mixed with relief.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Laura says softly.

 

“Well, this is growing more and more awkward the longer I stand here,” Lilita notes, watching them both jump in surprise.

“You’re  _ still _ here?!” Carmilla shouts.

Lilita scoffs.  “Honestly, it’s no wonder Laura ended up Kidnapped and sliced up like Christmas ham.  Your joint lack of awareness is downright perturbing.”

 

Laura gently untangles herself from Carmilla and stands up to face her.  “Look, you said you came here to check up on us. You’ve done that. So you can go now instead of ridiculing and abusing Carmilla, especially when she’s this vulnerable.”

Lilita is silent at that, her jaw clenching a few times.  Finally, she lets out a long exhale. “Fine. That wasn’t the only reason I came here.”

“Then  _ why _ are you here?” Laura asks, exasperated.

Lilita clicks her tongue and seems annoyed with herself.  She walks around the couch, so she can see Carmilla as well.

 

“When the news report broke that you and your friends had caught the Kidnapper, a cameraman got a shot of the two of you getting into the back of an ambulance,” Lilita says to Laura before turning her attention to Carmilla.  “And it reminded me of a similar shot from the news report when the police found you and your father. And it hit me that in both of those instances, I wasn’t there for you in your life in any capacity. And when you needed me most, I wasn’t there, either.  And I should’ve been.”

“You’re just making a bunch of statements I already knew,” Carmilla grumbles.

Lilita sighs and takes a step closer to Carmilla, pausing when Carmilla instinctively curls more into herself.  Laura subtly positions herself between them, protectively in front of Carmilla.

 

“Sweetheart,” Lilita tries again, her voice more gentle.  “Do you remember what I was like before I… before  _ we _ lost your father?”

Carmilla looks up at her but doesn’t reply.

“I don’t know what your memories are because you were so young,” Lilita continues.  “And even then, I was hardly ever around. I was always… traveling. For work. The irony of being married to a time traveler who stayed at home more than I did was never lost on me.  But whatever time we did spend together during those years, were full of as much laughter and love as I could fit in between trips.”

“Wow, who thought the real reason you came here was to give us a boring, verbal autobiography,” Carmilla comments dryly.

Laura quietly puts a hand on Carmilla’s and gives it a small squeeze.  Carmilla takes a deep breath.

“What is your point here, mother?”

 

“My point is, I have been a horrible mother and person in general since I lost my husband. He was the love of my life and after I lost him, it was like the light was gone. And in that darkness, I forgot that I wasn’t the only person who lost him.  You lost him, too,” Lilita says softly.

Laura looks over at Carmilla, who looks shocked as tears form in her eyes.

“I forgot that you lost your father and instead I  _ blamed _ you for it. For all these years, I blamed you, and I had no right to. And I wouldn’t admit that to myself until I was... seeing you in the back of another emergency vehicle…”  Her voice cracks. “I am so, so sorry. I can’t lose you, too. And it shouldn’t have taken me this long to realize that.”

Carmilla squeezes Laura’s hand but still doesn’t speak.

 

“I don’t expect us to have any kind of normal mother-daughter relationship,” Lilita continues.  “I just want us to maybe have  _ a _ mother-daughter relationship.  Someday. When you’re ready.”

Carmilla finally lets go of Laura’s hand and stands up, staring at her mother intently for a few seconds before speaking.  “ I spent so much time hating you and being afraid of you that I just couldn’t see it.  Your broken heart. You didn’t just lose your love, but because of that love, you cut yourself off from ever feeling that kind of love again. ”  She swallows hard.  “Because you knew every time I traveled away, there was a chance I wasn’t coming back.  And you were afraid. And you hated feeling afraid.”

Lilita wipes at her dampening cheeks.

Carmilla sighs.  “ And fear and hatred twisted you into something you were never supposed to be.  Somewhere in all that anger and darkness, you lost all your hope, didn’t you? ”

 

“Your father and I never wanted this kind of life for you, my glittering girl.  This world is already cruel enough to women without hurling you around space and time and making you constantly afraid.”

“I’m not,” Carmilla says softly.  “I’m not afraid anymore.”

Lilita looks over at Laura.  “Because of her.”

Carmilla nods.  “She’s my home.”

“The home I never gave you,” Lilita admits, but not with bitterness.  “The home I’m sincerely glad that you found. Love doesn’t make either of you weak.  It makes you both strong. I just want you to be safe and loved, darling. I’m sorry I never offered you that.”

 

Carmilla lets out a long, shaky breath and looks back at Laura before slowly meeting her mother’s eyes.

“I can’t say I’m anywhere near forgiving you right now,” Carmilla says slowly.  “But I appreciate you taking this step and considering I just watched one of my parents die a second time, I’ll…  need some time and think about everything.”

“I understand and that’s all I was asking,” Lilita says, her voice more warm than Carmilla swears she’s ever heard it.  With that, she finally walks out of their house.

 

Carmilla waits for the front door to close before she finally visibly relaxes.

Laura carefully walks up behind her and Carmilla turns, stepping into a hug all ready for her.

“I’m proud of you,” Laura whispers.

Carmilla sobs a laugh into Laura’s shoulder.  “Being forgiving sucks.”

Laura chuckles and squeezes her tighter.  “I should probably go lock the door before she comes back in here and yells at us for our lack of awareness again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is gonna be a bit of a controversial move for the fic but I really wanted to highlight that whereas Carmilla was very bitter and angry when she met Laura, finding a home with Laura has made her feel secure enough to not put all her need for love on her mother. And, realistically speaking, their relationship is never going to be fully healed, so it's not really meant to be a redemption for Lilita in this story and won't be treated as one. It's meant as a sign of growth for Carmilla.
> 
> AND since that was a pretty heavy chapter, I'm giving y'all two chapters in this update! >>


	25. The Prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla and Laura share their first prom experience together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)

**June 2009**

 

“ _ Oh, honey, _ ” Carmilla hears Sherman’s voice say from downstairs.  “ _ If you don’t want to go, please don’t make yourself. _ ”  Followed by a troubling sound.

Carmilla frowns and quickly runs to the attic, throwing on some clothes, and stands at the top of the stairs as she can hear Laura’s hiccuping sobs below.  According to a wall calendar and a clock, it was an evening in June 2009.

 

“ _ Dad, the prom tickets were so much money.  I can’t just waste them, _ ” she manages to say.

Hearing such a distraught Laura makes Carmilla feel queasy, and she rests on the stair railing.  A floorboard creaks from her shifted weight.

Laura’s crying pauses, clearly having heard it.  She and Sherman both carefully walk towards the stairs and both sigh in relief.

 

“Hi, Carm,” Laura says with a sniffle.  “How, uh… long have you been up there?”

“Not long,” Carmilla replies.

Sherman looks over at Laura, who nods, and he gestures for her to come downstairs.

“If I-I’m interrupting, I can just go kill time outside til I travel back to the future,” Carmilla comments.

Laura shakes her head, grabbing a tissue.  “No, no,” she mumbles. “It’s fine.”

“What’s going on?” Carmilla asks carefully.

 

Laura takes a shaky breath.  “Danny broke up with me a few days ago,” she says, her voice cracking.  “I should’ve listened to you the last time I saw you.”

Carmilla frowns and racks her brain.  “That was January 2008, right?”

Laura pouts.  “Yeah. When I told you that I felt like Danny and I were dating  for the sake of being together, or coz it’s what we were expected to do after being friends for so long.  And that I didn’t think it felt like what a relationship should feel like. ”

Carmilla chuckles as Sherman gets up and goes to the kitchen.  “Not like how it is in the TV shows, huh?”

Laura laughs.  “Nope. And, I mean, I appreciate the advice you gave me, but... Wish you had given me more deets.”

“You know only a dork says ‘deets,’ right?” Carmilla teases.

Laura grins, and Carmilla smiles at seeing that she’s cheered up a bit.

 

Sherman returns with two mugs of hot cocoa.

“Anyway, a few days ago, I called Danny out on being controlling,” Laura says after she’s taken a sip and thanked her father.  “And it turned into a huge fight. And she broke up with me. And now she won’t return my calls and prom is tomorrow.”

Carmilla winces. “Oh.  Wow.”

“And I was all set to go with my friends but then I realized LaF and Perry are going together and  my friends Kirsch and SJ are together and I’ll just be fifth wheeling. So then I thought about just selling the ticket.  But we also already got the dress and the limo. It’d be such a waste of money…”

“Honey, you need to do whatever you think you need to do,” Sherman says sweetly.  “Don’t go if you’re gonna be miserable.  _ That _ would be a waste of money.”

 

And suddenly, it clicks in Carmilla’s mind.

The spoiler for the reason why the Laura in her time has always been so grateful to her.

Why Laura’s called her her hero.

And the fact that Laura wouldn’t let her see any more of the photos in her past and Carmilla’s future.

 

Laura wanted Carmilla to have the choice whether to do this on her own.

Not let Time and Fate and Destiny dictate this choice for her.

 

“I can go,” Carmilla says.

Laura and Sherman both look at her in confusion.

“Go?  Go where?” Laura asks.

“Prom,” Carmilla replies simply.  “I can go to prom with you.”

Laura’s mouth drops open before she begins stammering.  “Wh-What? No. I… I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking me,” Carmilla points out.  “I’m offering.”

“There won’t be alcohol,” Laura says slowly.  “You’d be in a venue with teenagers totally sober.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “Alcohol triggers my traveling.  So I wouldn’t be drinking even if there was an open bar at your prom.”

 

When Laura still looks unsure, Carmilla takes another sip from her hot chocolate.  Something seems to catch Laura’s eye and Carmilla realizes what the issue is.

“It would just be as friends,” she says, noting that the lighter skin under her wedding band is still visible.  “You don’t have to worry about my wife.”

 

Laura looks a little more relieved.  “Just as friends. Okay.” Something occurs to her and she grins.

“What?” Carmlla asks.

“You can have Danny’s ticket.”

 

* * *

 

“Greetings, wonderful viewers,” Laura shouts, holding out her digital camera.  “Laura Hollis here in 2009, at eighteen years old!” She moves the camera a bit so Carmilla is in frame in the background.

“Carmilla Karnstein, twenty nine,” she grumbles obediently, giving a reluctant wave.

“Hollstein is going to prom today,” Laura continues.  “Which wasn’t exactly expected, but way better than the original plan, if I do say so myself.”  She clears her throat. “So, I’m, uhm… gonna get ready. And so’s Carm. And then we’ll do pictures?”

“Darn tootin’ we will!” Sherman yells from another room, making Laura laugh.

She stops recording and puts the camera down.

 

“You know which trunk in the attic has my mom’s formalwear, right?” Laura asks, starting to head upstairs.

Carmilla hums.  “You sure I can’t just go in my usual t-shirt and jeans?”

Laura pouts.

“Teasing, cutie.  I’ll pick out a great dress.  I’m not gonna mess this up for you.”

“Didn’t think you would,” Laura comments smugly and heads upstairs.

 

About an hour and a half later, Laura’s showered and put on her dress and makeup while Carmilla showers.  She does her hair and, after nervously checking herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time, takes a deep breath.  Deciding to go with a slightly complicated white dress with a corset that took entirely too long to put on, she grumbles that BBC period dramas do not spend enough time on how complicated these clothes are and that she’s been in there for 40 minutes.

And then tries to take another deep breath.

“Girl the hell up, Hollis,” she says to herself.

With that, she heads up to the attic.  She does a quick peek to make sure Carmilla isn’t indecent-- which seems par for the course considering every time she’s seen Carmilla in her life so far, she’s started off naked-- and isn’t able to hold back the gasp that escapes her lips.

 

The setting sun hits the black dress perfectly, its darkness contrasting with the light in the space around it, making Carmilla look impossibly ethereal.

Carmilla starts a bit at Laura’s gasp and turns.  Her mouth drops open.

Laura’s eyes widen.  “I… Uh. Uhm… H-Hey.”  She clears her throat awkwardly.  “S...Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she manages to stammer out, her eyes landing on Carmilla’s corset.

Carmilla continues staring, slowly moving towards Laura.

“It’s just, that was actually the dress I was hoping you’d pick,” Laura continues rambling.  “I just didn’t wanna pressure you into picking this dress since you’re already being a great friend by taking me to prom and… Th-That’s my favorite out of all my mom’s dresses and you look so beautiful and wonderful in it.”

 

Carmilla chuckles, but still doesn’t speak.

“And I just… wanted to thank you again for coming with me to prom.  I know it’s probably a silly thing to you for me to have gotten that upset over,” Laura says with a sheepish chuckle.  “But it really means a lot to me. A-And you can still back out.”

“Laura, don’t be ridiculous,” Carmilla finally says with a laugh.  “I’m not going anywhere. Something tells me this is the way it was supposed to be.  Both of us going to prom, together.”

She swallows hard and slowly steps back to go back to where she was standing when Laura walked in.

“You look gorgeous and amazing, Laura,” Carmilla comments softly.

Laura looks ready to pass out.  “I-I do?”

Carmilla looks at her as if she’s grown another head.  “Of course.”

“Oh.  Th...anks,” Laura mumbles shyly.

Carmilla chuckles and puts a brooch on before walking back towards Laura.  “Let’s go take these pictures, sweetheart. And then we’re gonna show off to Danny just what that jerk is missing out on.  Together.”

Laura grins.  “Together.”

 

* * *

 

“I think I have a permanent spot in my vision from the camera flash,” Carmilla grumbles as they wait for the limo to pull up.

“Be ready for more,” Laura says, scrolling through the plethora of photos on the camera that they’ve just taken.  “They’ll take pictures of us at the main entrance.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “Now I remember why I didn’t go to my prom.”

“I thought that’s coz you didn’t have anyone to go with or were afraid you’d vanish out of existence,” Laura remarks.

“Ouch,” Carmilla sighs.  “True, but ouch.”

Laura blushes.  “Wait, that’s not how I--”

“Glad you allowed this  _ friendless freak _ to go with you,” Carmilla laments, sighing overdramatically.

“Carm!” Laura giggles, realizing at last that Carmilla is teasing her.  “You are not a friendless freak.”

Carmilla smiles and stands closer to her, looking down at the camera.

 

Sherman had them do all the classic prom picture positions, having them alternate poses.

“These should all definitely be in the album,” Carmilla comments.

Laura stares at her, surprised.  “I can’t believe you remember! We haven’t taken one in eight years.”

“Ah, it’s only been a year or so for me,” Carmilla remarks, before she realizes how it comes out.  “Not that I would forget about this album,” she quickly amends.

Laura smiles warmly at her.  “Well, you’re right. I’m gonna put them all in there.”

 

The limo finally pulls up with LaFontaine and Perry hop out of the back.

LaFontaine is in a sharp tuxedo and Perry is in a classy deep purple dress.

“Hello, dear,” Perry greets as Laura and Carmilla walk over to greet them.  “Oh, Laura. You look gorgeous.”

“You guys look pretty spiffy yourselves,” Laura replies.

Both Perry and LaFontaine’s eyes widen as they look at Carmilla.  “Hold on,” LaF frowns. “We’ve seen your mystery prom date somewhere, haven’t we?”

 

Sherman steps out of the house with his camera.

Perry is examining Carmilla’s face closely, much to her annoyance.  “Wait a minute. Isn’t this that woman who kidnapped Laura in middle school?  The one she claimed was her best friend?”

Laura crosses her arms and huffs.  “She  _ is _ my best friend! And she didn’t kidnap me.”

“She looks the same age as she did over half a dozen years ago,” Perry notes in awe.

“That’s coz I’m a time traveler,” Carmilla replies.

LaFontaine and Perry look over at Carmilla.

“Okay, come on, kids,” Sherman says, growing impatient.  “You can congratulate Laura on having a time-traveling best friend going to prom with her later.”

 

Several pictures later-- including a goofy one of Laura kissing Carmilla’s cheek while she rolls her eyes-- everyone is in the limo on the way to prom.

“So, you’re a time traveler?” LaF asks.

“And you’re annoying,” Carmilla snaps.

Perry frowns.  “Well, that seems uncalled for.”

“Her condition is called chrono-impairment,” Laura offers.  “She can’t control when she leaves her own time, or when and where she’ll travel to.”

LaF pokes Carmilla in the arm, as if testing if she’s even corporeal.

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a scathing glare.  

“So what if you disappear tonight mid-prom?” they ask.

Laura and Carmilla share an uncertain look. “Then I’ll pick the dress off the floor and put it back in the attic,” Laura answers quietly.

 

“I can’t believe Kirsch and SJ aren’t coming to prom,” Perry says, trying to change the subject.

“Where are they?” Carmilla asks, failing to keep the relief from her voice.

Laura, LaFontaine, and Perry all share an amused look.

“Eloping,” Laura finally answers.

Carmilla starts to open her mouth to ask one of a bunch of questions, but then closes it when she realizes they’d contain spoilers.

She continues to remain quiet as Laura and her friends chat about the elopement, until the limo pulls up to the prom venue.

 

Perry and LaF slide out of the limo first, and Carmilla helps Laura out of the car.

“So chivalrous,” Laura comments with a giggle.

“Only the best for my favorite prom date,” Carmilla teases with a wink, chuckling when Laura blushes.

LaFontaine makes a gagging sound and Perry gives them a disapproving look.  “Be nice. Let’s go get our picture taken.”

Carmilla takes Laura’s hand and gently tugs on it so they hang back a bit.

“Breathe, okay?  I’ll let you know if I’m about to travel.  I’m not gonna just leave you.” Carmilla sighs.  “I know I’ve pretty much spent your whole life leaving you, but... ”

Laura shakes her head with a small smile.  “You always come back to me.”

“I always will,” Carmilla promises softly.  Laura gives her hand a grateful squeeze.

 

They head over and take their picture before going in and finding their table.  

“Hollis.” Mel says as she walks over.  “At the risk of sounding like a kid with parents in a failing marriage, Danny asked me to tell you--”  She frowns upon seeing her date. “Who is this?”

“This is Carmilla,” Laura replies.  “What about Danny, Mel?”

Mel looks Carmilla over a few times in confusion at the fact that Laura brought someone so much older than them with them, before breezing past it.

“She said she won’t be sitting with us,” Mel grumbles.  “She found somewhere else to sit.”

“She’s still coming?” Laura squeaks.

Mel nods.  “And she didn’t wanna end the cold war happening between you guys, so she got another ticket.”

Someone taps Mel on the shoulder and she turns with a grin.  “Laura, would you mind if I borrow my girl for another bunch of embarrassing photos?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind, now that I’m done relaying stupid messages, I’m going to join my lovely date Charlotte at our table,” Mel says with a grin.

 

Laura and Carmilla watch as they walk away.

“You gonna be okay with Danny here?” Carmilla asks gently.

Laura nods, giving her a grateful smile.  They get some punch before settling down at their table with Perry, LaFontaine, Mel, and Charlotte.

As they place their orders for dinner, Carmilla realizes Laura’s gotten really quiet.  “Hey. Are you okay?”

“You sure your wife is okay with this?” Laura asks, staring down into her lap.

Carmilla tries to hide her look of amusement.  “Yes, I’m sure. I should hope by now she knows how important you are to me.”

Laura slowly meets her eyes.  “You’re… really important to me, too.”

 

“Yo!  Lawrence!” a voice yells out.

Laura’s head snaps to look first at who called out-- it was a classmate named Theo-- then at the direction he was looking in.

Danny walks in, wearing the beautifully-cut white suit, customized the day she and Laura picked it out.  The color matches Laura’s dress.

And by Danny’s side…

Laura’s mouth drops open as Danny leans over and kisses her date on the lips.  The kiss lingers for a bit longer than anyone feels comfortable seeing, and Danny walks right past Laura’s table.

 

“Okay, I get not saying hi to you,” Perry comments with her arms crossed, “but it was pretty rude not to say hi to any of us.”

Carmilla gives Perry a glare as Danny and her date sit down at the table right next to theirs.

“I mean, not saying hi was rude in general,” Perry quickly amends.

Carmilla watches with concern as Laura shrinks in on herself.  Deciding she’s had enough, she stands and holds out her hand.

Laura stares at it in confusion, but when Carmilla makes a more insistent motion, Laura lets herself be helped up and is horrified as she’s led right to Danny.

 

“Excuse me, Daughter of Chucky,” Carmilla says.

Danny looks up, trying to maintain a bored expression as she takes in Laura’s date.  “May I help you, Elvira?” Her eyes widen. “Wait. This dress. Isn’t it…?”

“My mom’s?” Laura manages to find her voice.  “Yep. She picked it out herself.”

“But that’s your favorite one,” Danny murmurs, more to herself.  Then she catches herself. “Who is this, anyway? Coz I feel like I’ve seen her before--”

Carmilla squeezes her hand, and Laura smirks, finding confidence in the small action.  “This is Carmilla.”

Danny scoffs before she realizes Laura’s serious.  “Really? You’re telling me you brought your time traveling friend here for prom?”  She narrows her eyes at Carmilla. “Aren’t you a little old to be at a high school prom?”

“Carmilla never went to her prom,” Laura explains.  “And Carmilla also doesn’t have to justify her actions to anyone.  Least of all you.” She gestures at Danny’s date. “You know who does have to justify herself?  You. What the hell is this?”

 

Danny clenches her jaw.  “You could be a little nicer to Betty.”

“You could be a little less nicer to Betty,” Laura fires back.  “Besides, I have nothing against  _ her _ .  We’ve been broken up for a few days and you’re already rebounding?”

Danny raises an eyebrow.  “Look who’s talking, Hollis.  You brought a thirty-year old here as your date.”

“I’m only twenty nine,” Carmilla clarifies.

Laura nods appreciatively.  “Plus she’s only here as my friend.”

Danny rolls her eyes.  “Puh-leez. You’ve been crushing on her ever since the first time you started blabbing about her and your parents had you locked up for being crazy.”

 

Carmilla feels Laura stiffen next to her and sees her blushing.

“Th-That doesn’t matter! She offered and she couldn’t feel the same about me, so she’s here just as a friend!” Laura declares.

Carmilla manages to maintain a neutral expression.

“You came in here, with an actual  _ date _ days after we broke up, and then kissed her in front of everyone!”

Betty awkwardly clears her throat.  “That  _ was _ pretty uncool of you, Lawrence.  For all parties involved.”

Dinner is being served now and Betty seems all too eager to start eating to avoid continuing participating in this conversation.

 

Danny swallows hard.  She looks from Betty, to Laura, back to Betty.  “I… --Fine! I’m...” She huffs. “I’m sorry, okay?  That was disrespectful. To both of you.”

Carmilla looks over at Laura, who has an unreadable expression on her face.  She takes a deep breath.

“We’ve been friends for too long to let it ruin a night like this, haven’t we? So, Danny, can we just… do prom tonight, separately, without any pettiness or drama?” Laura asks sincerely.

Danny looks surprised before she gives a slow, small nod.  “I think I can do that, Hollis.”

 

Laura looks relieved and tugs on Carmilla’s hand so they walk back to their table.  Once they sit down, Laura smiles at Carmilla and begins to eat from her plate. “Thanks, Carm.”

Carmilla cocks her head to the side in confusion, stabbing at her salad. “For what?”

“I never would’ve been able to stand up for myself if you weren’t there by my side supporting me,” Laura replies, mouth full.

Carmilla chuckles and shakes her head.  “Laura, you would’ve definitely been able to do that without me here.  I just gave you a little nudge to get started earlier.”

Laura hums in response, and they remain mostly quiet for the rest of the meal, with random friends and classmates popping up throughout the night to take pictures with her, which Carmilla obligingly captures.

 

“You sure you don’t wanna make the rounds yourself?” Carmilla asks as they finish up dessert.

“Would you come with me?“ Laura asks shyly.

“No,” Carmilla deadpans.  Her expression softens. “Kidding, cutie.  This is your night. Whatever you want to do, I’m game.”

Laura’s expression lights up and Carmilla braces herself to make the rounds among a bunch of teenagers, when she realizes what song it is.

“Carm!  This is--”

“--Your favorite song. Or, one of them, anyway. Yeah, I know,” Carmilla laughs.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together but lets her question go as she hops to her feet.  She looks excitedly over to her friends, who are already exaggerating their reluctance and grudgingly getting up as well.

Carmilla rises and allows herself to be dragged to the dance floor.  Almost immediately, her friends swarm her, now sincerely smiling and laughing as Laura belts out the words to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

 

As the DJ extends the end to the song by looping the last bit, Carmilla backs away undetected and heads back to the table, snatching up the camera and taking shots of Laura glowing as she laughs with her friends, young and carefree.

 

The song finally ends, and the next song is a slow song.

Carmilla chuckles to herself when she realizes it’s Alison Krauss’s “When You Say Nothing At All.”

A bunch of the people on the dance floor leave, and the rest that remain begin coupling up.  Laura steps off the dance floor, watching as LaF holds Perry closely, and Mel and Charlotte are laughing and talking through their embrace.

As she starts to head back to her seat, Carmilla reaches out and lightly grabs her by the arm, just to get her attention.

Laura first looks at the hand on her arm, then at the person it belongs to.

Carmilla clears her throat.  “May I have this dance?” she asks smoothly.

Laura gapes at her.  “Wha?”

 

“I promised I’d go to prom with you,” Carmilla replies.  “That includes dancing. But… only if you want to?”

Laura swallows hard and laughs nervously.  “Of course I want to.”

They head to the dance floor side-by-side, and Carmilla holds out her hand.  Once Laura takes it, Carmilla gives her a small tug towards her so they’re in an embrace.  Their eyes meet and Laura looks like she’s buzzing with happiness.

“Is...”

Carmilla gives Laura an encouraging nod to continue with her question.

“Is it okay if I lean my head on your shoulder?” Laura asks shyly.

Carmilla chuckles and nods, shifting a bit so it’s more comfortable for Laura to do so.

They sway to the music, simply enjoying each other’s company for the entire song.

The next song begins, but they stay holding each other.

 

“Carm, I don’t think I ever said it enough when I was younger,” Laura finally mumbles, “but I’m so grateful I met you in the park that day.  You’re my best friend and you’ve made my life better.”

Carmilla pulls away a bit to offer a smile and a warm look.  “You’re my best friend, too, Laura. I feel like I was just existing as a ghost before I met you.  And now I know… I’m here.”

Laura huffs out a small laugh.  “So, we’re friends in the future, huh?”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “I… uh...”

“The song that you recognized as my favorite was just released and wasn’t around the last time we met,” Laura explains.  “Which means the only way you’d know it’s my favorite is if we’re still friends in the future. And our ages are getting closer.”

“You’re a little too good at this investigative Lois Lane crap sometimes, cupcake,” Carmilla comments, making them both chuckle.

Laura shrugs.  “It’s a little reassuring to know even when you leave me here, you’re not gonna forget about me.”

“I’d never forget a cutie like you, cupcake.” Carmilla teases, making Laura blush.

 

The song gets a little too fast-paced for their simple swaying, so Laura leads them towards the back of the venue, where there’s a large balcony.  Some of her classmates who weren’t interested in dancing are out here. But they manage to find a more secluded spot.

“I really shouldn’t tell you a lot about the future-- our future,” Carmilla says, leaning on the railing.  “But I can say that yes, our timelines do eventually meet up. And I’m so grateful it does.”

Laura stands next to her so their shoulders are touching.  “I can’t wait for that to happen.” She nudges Carmilla with her shoulder.  “Thanks again for coming with me tonight, Carm.”

“The pleasure was mine,” Carmilla says sincerely.  “Seems pretty awesome that the Universe made it so we both went to prom together.  Really glad I didn’t get to go to mine now that it meant I got to go to my first one with you.”

Laura blushes and Carmilla turns to face her.

 

“And with that, cutie, I’m gonna have to leave you.  Have a few more dances with your friends for me, okay?”

Laura nods, trying not to look dejected.  “Okay.”

Carmilla takes Laura’s hand and gives it a kiss.  “See you April 17, 2010, Laura.”

Laura watches as Carmilla vanishes before her eyes.  She lets out a sad sigh.

By then, she’d be in college.  But that just meant she would be one step closer to her timeline matching up with Carmilla’s.

And maybe, closer to moments like they shared tonight at prom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for the feedback on here, on Wattpad, and on Twitter! As always, you can always chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be next Monday. Stay awesome! <3


	26. The Vow Renewal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day before they renew their vows, Carmilla finds out a secret that Laura and the gang have been hiding from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read my work before, you'll know that this is the point of the fic in which I ask you all to trust me. If you haven't read my stuff before, then I am asking you as a reader to trust that I am going to give you all a proper happy ending. So, please, trust me. ^-^

**November 2019**

 

“Prom was pretty damn magical,” Laura sighs happily as she and Carmilla flip through the photo album.  “Although I’ll admit I was sad for weeks that we didn’t kiss at the end of the night.”

Carmilla laughs.  “But then the first time I kissed you wouldn’t have been the first time you kissed me,” she points out.

“Whatta romantic,” Laura teases, leaning in closer.

Carmilla hums and meets her in the middle for a long, sweet kiss.  “Look who’s talking. You’re the one who wants to renew our vows two years into marriage.”

Laura chuckles and gives her another peck on the cheek.  “We’re celebrating the real start to your treatment,” she says brightly.  “You were able to jump back to almost the same day you left me when you traveled away.”

“That’s still a long time,” Carmilla sighs.

“Still better than waiting for weeks.”  Laura goes to the kitchen with mugs in hand, followed by the familiar clattering of her prepping for hot cocoa refills.

 

Carmilla notices that Laura’s put up some new pictures-- a couple are from their wedding, some are casual ones of them alone, a few are holiday pictures with their friends and Sherman.  And one of Laura and her mother.

She’d seen it before-- Laura in the park, beaming as she has a bit of frosting on her cheek.  Her mom is positively glowing as well, her warm and genuine smile something that Laura clearly inherited.

 

She stands up and notices the “new message” notification light on their house phone voicemail is blinking, so she hits the ‘play’ button.

“ _ You have four new messages, _ ” it says.  “ _ First voice message: _ ”

 

“ _ Hi, sis.  Just wanted to see if your treatment is working.  Although I guess it’s not, or I wouldn’t have to leave this message at all. _ ”

Carmilla laughs and deletes the message, making a mental note to call Mattie back later.

 

“ _ Next voice message: _ ”

“ _ Heyyyy Karnstein.  It’s been almost a day since Laura told me you traveled away.  Guess we got some tweaking to do! But don’t worry, we’re gonna make sure the blood you got from your dad… it won’t go to waste, okay?  See ya when I see ya. _ ”

Another mental note to call LaFontaine back as Carmilla goes to the next message.  This one is clearly automated.

 

“ _ Hello.  This message is for. Laura Hollis. This is a third reminder regarding your urgent medication refill. Your prescription has been ready.  Please pick it up as soon as possible. Thank you. _ ”

Carmilla turns to find Laura holding two full mugs.

“What prescription?” Carmilla asks.

“Oh, uhm.  It’s nothing,” Laura mumbles.

 

The machine goes to the next message.

“ _ Hi, sweetie, it’s dad.  So… You know how I’m your backup with the antibiotics and stuff?  After you missed the last reminder, they called me and I know you’re busy and stressed which probably isn’t helping with the whole heart thing.  I got them for you and I’ll give them to you at the vow renewal! Assuming Carmilla returns in time for that, of course. Otherwise I’ll just swing by.  Love you! _ ”

 

Laura looks over nervously at Carmilla, who’s staring intently at her with her arms crossed.  “Explain.”

 

The front door lock clicks and Sherman steps through.  “Oh, haha, I just saw your text that Carm did travel back in time for the vow renewal tomorrow,” he says, staring down at his phone.  “Well, I was already in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop off your--”

He sees Carmilla and closes his mouth before clearing his throat.

“...Your friends,” he finishes, right as Perry, LaFontaine, and Danny walk in behind him.

“Hi, Laura, I had some questions about the decorations,” Perry says.

LaF plops down on the couch, stretching out.  “And I had some questions for Carm.”

“We’re, uh, kinda in the middle of something right now,” Laura stammers as Carmilla glares everyone down.

“I’m just here to pass on that my mom wants you to...”  Danny awkwardly glances over at Carmilla before looking back at Laura.  “...follow up. Soon.”

 

“What the  _ hell _ is going on?” Carmilla demands finally.  “Does everyone here know about whatever it is you’re keeping from me?”

“Y...es...” Laura answers slowly.  She sighs and looks around the room.  “I just think this discussion should be had in private.”

Danny nods as she and Sherman leave first, with him dropping off a small bag at the door on his way out.  LaFontaine doesn’t move right away, but Perry drags them out and closes the front door.

 

“ _ What _ is going on?” Carmilla asks, her tone more gentle.

Laura sighs and sits down, patting the seat next to her.  “Do you remember back in April of last year when you started traveling a lot?  Before we asked LaFontaine for help in October?”

Carmilla joins her on the couch and nods.

“And my dad was in the hospital for a week in late July?”

Carmilla nods again.

“Well, right after you traveled away for two and a half months and I was trying to keep up with taking care of him, and doing my job as a reporter on that stupid kidnapper, and covering your shifts at the library if I could… th-there was a lotta stress and I… sorta… maybe… kinda had a stroke.”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen and she jumps off the couch.  “ _ WHAT? _ ”

 

Laura flinches.  She sucks in a breath.  “And then I had a valve replacement surgery?”

Carmilla pales and Laura gently grabs her hand and leads her back down to the couch.  She gives her a few moments.

“What are the meds for?” Carmilla finally asks.

“Usually just some blood thinners help me manage the condition,” Laura explains gently.  “RHD. Rheumatic heart disease.” She swallows hard. “What my mom had.” When Carmilla visibly starts to panic again, Laura rushes out, “But we have way better methods of managing it now!”

Carmilla looks at her skeptically.  “Then what is with Danny saying there’s an urgent need to follow up with Mrs. Lawrence?”

Laura averts her gaze and Carmilla frowns.

“Laura…”

 

“The valve replacement didn’t work.  I mean, it did and I’ve been managing it with the medication, but…  There’s concerns,” Laura sighs. “I go to the office Danny’s mom works at for check-ups and all the tests... an echo, ECG, x-ray, MRI, blood tests… ”

Carmilla frowns.  “The same battery of tests I get done for LaF’s experiment.”

Laura nods.  “Yeah, which I’ve been doing since last year.  But LaF’s mom noticed something in the last group of tests and asked me to go back so she could run some more and I assume that’s what the follow up is for.  So Danny’s mom and LaF’s mom probably just want to follow up to make sure I’m taking the antibiotics.”

Carmilla looks down at her hands in her lap, shaking her leg nervously.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispers sadly.

Laura sighs.  “By the time you got back from traveling in October, I was done recovering.  And my friends had been with me the whole time-- Mattie included-- and you were struggling with always being gone and I didn’t wanna add to it right away.  And then the treatment thing with LaF started and you were worried about having to go back and see your dad. I was waiting for the right time.”

“You know what would’ve been a great time?  Any time before we found out that the heart surgery you just told me about isn’t working and you might be dead soon,” Carmilla snaps, her voice cracking.  “Is that why you wanted to renew our vows? You know something that suggests you’d be dead soon?”

 

Laura flinches and Carmilla buries her face in her hands with a shaky sob.

“I… I’m so sorry, Carm.”  Laura slowly reaches out and places a hand on Carmilla’s knee.  “Look, with all this happening, I realized I’ve… never seen you past the age of thirty.  For the longest time I assumed we eventually found a way for you to stop traveling.”

Carmilla looks up, horrified.  “And now what? You think it’s coz you  _ die _ in the next year?”

“I don’t know,” Laura sighs.  She stands up and looks at her phone.  “I do know I need to get to Dr. LaFontaine’s office before it closes and discuss what’s going on with my test results.  Regardless of whether we renew our vows tomorrow.” She puts on her sneakers. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

Carmilla doesn’t say anything as Laura closes the front door.

 

After a few deep breaths, she calls Mattie.

Following some incoherent words through tears, Mattie is at the house within the hour.

 

“H-How could she not tell me?” Carmilla asks after she’s managed to stop crying for a bit once Mattie shows up with a hug.  “How could  _ you _ not tell me?”

“She had the stroke and surgery right after you traveled away last July, dear.  We all had every intention of telling you when you came back. But it was over two months later and by then, she was almost fully recovered and managing well with her medication,” Mattie replies gently.  “And she saw how worried you were about your condition, so we all agreed to wait until you’d at least seen your father. There was really no concern until the most recent tests.”

Carmilla sniffles.  “Thank you for helping watch over her.”

“Yeah, well, she’s a lot stronger than I think any of us ever give her credit for,” Mattie shrugs.  She hesitates, mulling over what she wants to say next. Finally, she clicks her tongue. “But I don’t think she’s strong enough to do this with you sulking here.”

 

Carmilla looks at her, eyes wide.

“Sis, let’s say the test results are as awful as we think they could be.  She’s getting this news. While you’re here. And she’s alone. And, as you said, she thinks you’re so upset with her that you don’t even want to renew your vows.  Which you and I both know isn’t true.” Mattie gives her a pointed look. “Aren’t you always the one yammering on and on about how much she puts your needs ahead of hers and supports you?  And how you wish, just once, you could do that for her?”

Carmilla huffs out a laugh.  “I hate when you’re right.”

Mattie grins and taps her on the nose.  “Dear, I’m always right.”

* * *

“Thought you might be here,” Carmilla says, finding Laura on their usual park bench.

The one where a young Laura had to introduce Carmilla to her father.  Where Carmilla left Laura after their first date. Where Laura found Carmilla after she panicked and ran away.

And where Laura was now sitting alone, crying.

Carmilla sits down next to her and Laura glances up, eyes puffy.

“There was a mom and her kid sitting here when I got here and I was already crying so hard they got up and left,” Laura blubbers.  “The kid even gave me his  _ Voltron _ lunchbox.”

Carmilla chuckles softly and picks it up off the floor.  Laura’s wiping her tears with hiccuping breaths.

**“** Okay.  Are you hungry?” Carmilla asks, rifling through the lunch box. ”Coz, you know, now we have chocolate, and chocolate with bits of cookies in it, and chocolate with some kind of fudge-like substance …”

Laura lets out a sobbed laugh.  “Stop.  Please.  Stop.”

“Are you calling my bluff?” Carmilla responds, closing the lunch box.  “Coz I may have slightly exaggerated what goodies I found in there.”

Laura lets out another sobbed laugh.  “Well, then, I guess there’s no point in living anymore.”

 

Carmilla narrows her eyes.

“Too soon?” Laura asks, her voice raspy.

“Slightly,” Carmilla replies.  She sucks in a breath. “Feel like talking about it?”

“Doc LaF thinks another valve got affected and damaged.  So I gotta take antibiotics. She doesn’t know if I can take another heart surgery,” Laura says, her voice small.

Carmilla sits in silence beside Laura for a few moments.  Laura finally clears her throat awkwardly. 

“You still mad at me?”

Carmilla feels her heart break at the fear in Laura’s voice and she shakes her head.  “I was never mad at you.”

“Oh.”

 

Carmilla takes Laura’s hands in hers.  “You know… Our lives have been so intertwined that I never even really thought about where they’d end up linearly.  To me, it’s like your existence has just been this huge circle that I’ve been leaping around in.”

She swallows hard.

“Because… Mattie’s right.  Our condition is a gift. I’m not bound by time or...”  The words catch in her throat. “I’ve had the privilege of seeing your life in a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.”

Laura huffs out a small laugh.

“But you’ve been here, going in one direction.  And it never occurred to me how scary that could be.”

Carmilla pauses and inhales deeply.

“I don’t want to watch you die.”

 

The words hover in the space between them, making the air heavy and threatening to snuff out all the light in the world.

“That makes two of us,” Laura finally says softly.

“All I could think about is losing you.  And if I do, I think I’d go mad,” Carmilla admits, fear creeping into her voice.

Laura squeezes Carmilla’s hands.  “Carm, I refuse to believe that the Universe brought us together across time and then in the present, just for it to end in chaos and misery.  This isn’t like before you met me.  We  _ found _ each other.  Here.” Laura smiles.  “We’ve  _ never _ known how much time we’ll have together.  Not in 1998, and not now. So why should anything be different?”

Carmilla gives a slight nod, smiling at Laura’s logic.

 

“And, yeah, half the time I wanna strangle you,” Laura says, making them both laugh.  “But we’ve had kisses, and cocoa, and stars, and dancing.  That’s so much more than nothing.”

Carmilla grins.  “You sound like a bad fortune cookie.”

“Learned from the best,” Laura says with a shrug and a wink.

She seems to have found strength in her own words.

“We’ve had such an adventure together and fearing  _ maybe _ losing each other now?  I don’t want  _ that _  to be our story.  Okay?  Our story is that we made each other better.  Throughout time and in spite of it.”

 

Carmilla nods again, more firmly.  “Fine, We’ll keep managing your condition.  And keep living our lives together, treating time as precious as we always have.

“Good.  Because... if this is our last year, I don’t want to waste it arguing.”

  

* * *

 

 

“Carmilla, would you like to go first?” Sherman asks, having been asked by both Carmilla and Laura to officiate the vow renewal.

Both girls are dressed in the same white suits as their wedding.

“You’re  _ you _ , this time, right?” Laura asks Carmilla with a giggle.

Carmilla narrows her eyes playfully.  “I was me the last time, too. Just slightly time-displaced.”  She clears her throat, looking around at their friends. Even her mother got an invite to this event, although she’s awkwardly sat in the back in a row by herself.  “But, yes, it’s me.”

Carmilla glances at Sherman and he gives her a nod.

 

She starts to reach into her pocket for her index cards before scoffing and deciding to speak from the heart.

“So, I got some pretty scary news yesterday and freaked out,” Carmilla begins.  “And at first I thought I was mad that I was the last to know. But then I realized I was scared.  More scared than I’ve ever been—and I’ve been pretty damned scared before. This wasn’t me walking around for days somewhere wondering when I’ll have permanent shelter and food again.  This wasn’t me ending up in a weird dark place alone.”

She sighs.

“This was me facing the very real possibility that I’d have to spend a future without ever seeing you again.  It was me realizing for the first time what it meant to be with someone who lives through time linearly and… I was so scared.”  Carmilla looks over at Mattie. “Then, someone reminded me that you’ve built your life around me. And the least I could do is be there for you.”

 

Laura starts to interrupt, but Carmilla raises an eyebrow.

“Ah, I do believe I have the floor.”

Sherman gives her a nod to continue, chuckling when Laura lets out a very loud huff and pouts.

 

“And  _ that _ … That terrified me more.  Because…  Hey, you’re Laura Hollis.  And I’ve watched you fight bullies… and a kidnapper... and even that lady who tried to butt in line at the craft fair.”

Laura giggles.

“And the idea of you also not knowing what could happen next and being scared and needing me—that made me feel so weak and powerless.”  Carmilla chuckles. “But then I realized that, if I get comfort in your strength by just having you in my life, then maybe I’m the same for you.  Maybe that’s why you put up with me randomly popping up in your life and leaving just as suddenly. Because you’re my source of strength, and I’m yours.”

Carmilla takes a deep breath, taking Laura’s hands in hers as tears form in her eyes.

“So, you’re gonna figure it out.  Whatever happens next, we’re gonna do it together.  We’ll be scared together, but we’ll make each other strong.  And we’ll have our hot cocoa, and our star gazing, and snuggles by the fireplace, and our laughs, for as long as time will let us.  And beyond that, because time has never stopped us before. And because I love you too much to let something as flimsy as time keep us apart.”

 

Laura sobs out a laugh, crying as well and letting go of Carmilla’s hands to wipe her eyes.  

“Your turn,” Sherman says, his voice cracking from emotion.

 

“Carm, when will you learn?” Laura says with a chuckle and a head shake,  “It doesn’t matter if it was while I was a kid with a date to wait for you in my attic, or preparing our photo album and vlogs, or prom, or meeting you in the present, or getting married to Future You instead of Present You.  I’ve never built my life around you. I’ve always built it  _ with _ you.”

She gives Carmilla a warm smile.

“Our story isn’t about waiting or being afraid.  It’s about how we make each other strong. Our story is we make each other better.”  Laura clears her throat. “It doesn’t matter if the whole world burns, as long as I’ve had time together with you-- time building my life with you.”

She takes Carmilla’s hands again.

 

“This isn’t the end of our story.  I’m ready to make the most of whatever time we have left together-- whether it’s days, or weeks, or years-- and continue building our lives together,” Laura says, her voice strong.

Carmilla nods with a sniffle.  “I’m ready, too. Let’s do this.  Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust meeeee :D  
> Once again, thank you all for reading and for all the feedback I've gotten so far. Please feel free to leave any more comments or feedback down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/).  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> As always, next update will be in a week! Til then, stay awesome <3


	27. The Album

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla surprises Laura on her birthday, only to find that Laura has a gift for her as well that's been a long time in the making.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all of you who are trusting me as much as Laura trusts the Universe in this chapter hahaha

**January 2020**

 

 

“Hey,” Carmilla says, gratefully taking clothes from Laura.  “Guess who just had to do her first set of vows a second time.”

Laura laughs.  “I figured that’s when you went, when a very angry Past You appeared here, whisked away from before the rehearsal dinner.”

“Well, you know, in hindsight, you were right about thinking my relationship with my mom could be redeemed,” Carmilla admits sheepishly as she finishes getting dressed.

“Ah, it never gets old to hear ‘you were right,’” Laura teases.

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “You weren’t 100% right with the timing, though,” she points out.

“Timing’s never really been either of our strong suits,” Laura comments.  “But speaking of timing, I was just about to order dinner. Are you good with Chinese takeout?  Or are you still full from food from our wedding?”

 

Carmilla frowns.  “Wait. I traveled away the morning of your birthday.  How long have I been gone?” she asks, worried. “Shit, did I miss the entirety of your birthday?”

“It’s still my birthday, silly.  You were gone less than a day, so LaF’s treatment at helping you target your travels seems to be working.  Besides, I did have Past You standing here calling me a lunatic to keep me company,” Laura replies with a giggle.  “My friends and dad came and went. I would’ve had them stay here longer but… Made it a quick lunch with presents and cake coz I’m not feeling great.  I saved you a slice, though.”

Carmilla’s concerned frown deepens.  “You’re not feeling well?”

“Just a small fever,” Laura answers.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” Carmilla suggests.  “I’ll order the food.”

Laura hums.  “You’re the best.”

 

“Hardly,” Carmilla comments dryly.  “But like I just told Past You, you’re stuck with me.”

“And you’re stuck with me,” Laura comments before she wanders off to the bedroom.

Carmilla waits a few minutes before peeking into the room and hearing a light snoring.  She pulls out her phone and starts texting her friends.  

* * *

 

Laura yawns and squints at the clock on the nightstand.

_ 11:27pm _ .

She lets out a yelp and sits bolt upright.  The bedroom door flies open and a wide-eyed Carmilla runs in.  “What? What is it? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Laura replies.  “Just… Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“Jeez, don’t scare me like that!” Carmilla grumbles.

Laura grins sheepishly.  “Sorry.”

Carmilla sits at the foot of the bed.  “How are you feeling?”

“I’m  _ feeling _ curious as to why you let me sleep through my birthday night,” Laura says teasingly.  “Especially when--”

She cuts herself off and clears her throat.

 

_ Especially when it may be her last _ , Carmilla finishes mentally.

She reaches out her hand for Laura to take.  “Come with me.”

Laura follows Carmilla out to the living room and stops short.

 

A bookcase has been wheeled in and placed beside the couch by the fireplace.  All of Laura’s friends, her father, and even Carmilla’s mother are standing near it.

 

“Kirsch and Danny built it,” Carmilla explains.  “Remember that weekend a few months ago when LaF and I took you to Comic-Con?  Perry and your dad snuck into your room and grabbed the list I gave you with all the books.”

Laura runs her hand over the spines of all the books.  “So these are...”

“All books we picked out on our first date during some timeline out there.  Mattie hunted down as many as she could from the library-- which we’ll need to eventually return-- and my mother bought the rest.”

 

Laura’s eyes have welled up with tears and she sniffles.  “Y-You guys...”

“We love you, Hollis,” Danny says simply.

“All of us,” Mattie supplies grudgingly.  “It also helps that you and Carm apparently have an affinity for sappy books that no one else would borrow and read.”

Lilita crosses her arms.  “Speak for yourself. I had to buy quite a lot of this collection.”

Carmilla gives her a pointed look.

“...Which I have absolutely no issue with,” she amends quickly.

 

“I cleaned the bookcase after they built it,” Perry says cheerfully.  “100% dust-free. And I take a lot of pride in that last 1%.”

LaF pats her on the arm.  “And I created this awesome glossy finish that kills 99.9% of bacteria.”

 

“And I helped build it!” Kirsch declares proudly.

“Karnstein already said that,” Danny growls.  “It was literally the first thing she said.”

Kirsch pouts.  “Oh.” A thought occurs to him and his face lights up.  “When you finish reading all the books, you can turn this into a display for beer bottles and cans.”

“We’ll, uh, keep that in mind,” Laura says sweetly.

 

“And with that, we’ll let the girls have the rest of this night alone,” Mattie says, giving the others a pointed look.

Carmilla watches as everyone lines up to give Laura a hug-- including an awkward small one with Lilita-- and then thanks them all individually.  Mattie and Sherman are the last ones on line.

 

Mattie hands Laura a box.  “And here’s the thing you asked for, dear.”

Laura grins and gives her a big hug.  “Thanks, Mattie.”

“And here’s the other stuff you asked for,” Sherman says vaguely, handing her a small package.

“You guys are double agents,” Carmilla grumbles.  “I’m supposed to be the only one giving surprise presents tonight.  What is going on, here?”

Laura laughs as she finishes up a long embrace with her father.  “You’ll see.”

After everyone leaves, Carmilla begins reheating the Chinese takeout while Laura takes the box from Mattie and the package from Sherman to her room.

 

“Cupcake, the food’s ready,” Carmilla eventually calls.

“Did you eat without me?” Laura asks, returning with just the box.

Carmilla shakes her head.  “Was too busy setting up the bookcase.  And you know, general courtesy reasons.”

 

“Plus you were full from our wedding,” Laura jokes.

“Well, yeah, there’s that,” Carmilla chuckles.

Laura pats the bookcase as she walks past it to sit with Carmilla on the couch by the fireplace.  The flames are glowing in Carmilla’s eyes as she looks at Laura and smiles.

“This was amazing of you.  I mean, of all my friends and our family, too, of course.  But I assume you’re the one who had the idea and coordinated,” Laura says.

Carmilla’s smile grows as Laura sits beside her, putting the box on the floor.  “Well, like you said. We can’t just give up our life together. We gotta spend every moment together like it matters.  Coz it does.”

 

“What an excellent segue,” Laura says, opening the box and pulling out a photo album.  “Glad we’re on the same page.” She flips it open. “Literally.”

Carmilla looks down and smiles at the first page as she begins eating.  

It just has a Polaroid picture, faded but covered in plastic wrap to protect it.  Below is a short caption reading, “ _ February 1998. Laura, 7.  Carmilla, 23. First Buffy viewing! _ ”

 

Laura flips the page with one hand as she shovels at some food to put into her mouth with the other. Some text on the page reads, “ _ September 2000.  Laura, 9. Carmilla, 27.  First video. And fight(?) _ ”

Carmilla laughs as the first picture, also slightly faded, shows a smug Carmilla and a blurry Laura-- it was clearly taken before Laura was ready.

The one next to it is a “goofy” pic, where Laura’s eyes are crossed and her tongue is sticking out, and Carmilla is pretending to snarl at her.

In its own row is a picture of them simply smiling, with a large grin from Laura, lighting up the entire picture.

 

The next group of pictures are labeled, “ _ November 2001. Laura, 10. Carmilla, 26.  First trip to the park and first apple ciders together!! _ ”

Two pictures are in Laura’s bedroom, one of which is Laura hugging Carmilla.  A third picture is taken during their first outing together other than the first time they met, both holding cups of apple cider.

 

The next group of pictures span several pages and Carmilla grins as soon as she realizes what they are.

“ _ June 2009.  Laura, 18. Carmilla, 29. Prom!! _ ”

 

There is one with both of them leaning on Sherman’s car, with Carmilla posed behind Laura.

Another picture has Carmilla slipping a corsage over Laura’s wrist and Laura over-acting and swooning.

The next group of pictures is of Carmilla giving Laura a piggyback ride, and then Laura picking Carmilla up bridal-style.  They’re laughing in all of them.

A few pictures show them taking turns twirling each other, and at the end of one, Laura has twirled into Carmilla and is hovering an inch from her face, giving her a kiss on the cheek while Carmilla grins.

 

Carmilla clears her throat.  “I’ve been meaning to ask you this… Did I lead you on?” she asks quietly, her fingers lightly brushing over the last picture.  “I mean, we were over ten years apart in age. And I tried to be careful with you and made sure you knew we were going as friends, but…”

“No, you didn’t lead me on,” Laura insists.  “I think I was always gonna be crushing on you.”

Carmilla doesn’t seem entirely convinced as she continues eating.

Laura hums as she chews.  “Did you ever feel like I was taking advantage of you when you met me?”

“God, no!” Carmilla replies.  “I mean, I thought I’d be at a disadvantage coz you knew so much more about me than I knew about you-- or than I knew about me.  But you never made me felt that way. You only let me do whatever I felt comfortable doing.”

“And that’s how I felt about you,” Laura says sweetly.  “I always felt comfortable with you.”

Carmilla smiles warmly.  “Okay,” she replies, finally satisfied.

 

They laugh as they realize the next few prom pictures are after Perry and LaFontaine showed up at Laura’s house.

After a regular group picture, there is one of Laura, Perry, Carmilla posing like Charlie’s Angels.  LaF is sprawled on the ground.

“Remember Perry fussed at them not to do it or they’d ruin the suit?” Laura giggles.

Carmilla nods with a chuckle.  “They did it anyway and she figured it was too late and she might as well pose.”  The memory was more recent for her, and Laura laughs harder after Carmilla reminds her.

 

Another group picture shows them all jumping into the air, with a beaming Laura getting way more airtime than anyone else.

“Very impressive, creampuff,” Carmilla comments.

“What can I say?” Laura asks as they look at the last bunch of prom pictures.  They’re regular poses, usually with Carmilla standing behind Laura with her arms wrapped around her waist and Laura’s smile lighting up the photos.  “You made me so happy I thought I could actually fly away.”

Carmilla chuckles.

“Thank you again for volunteering to come with me,” Laura says softly.  The last picture is of them walking into the venue, the professional picture capturing their pure happiness and love for each other.

Carmilla kisses her on the cheek.  “Anything for you, cutie.”

Laura gives her a quick peck on the lips before returning to her dinner.

 

“Not to completely ignore how touching these pictures are,” Carmilla comments as she taps her finger on the album cover, “but I swear I’ve seen this album before.  Without the pictures, of course.”

“It’s from Mattie,” Laura answers.  She swallows hard. “My dad had offered to take care of me after my heart surgery while you weren’t around, but he’d just gotten out of the hospital himself.  So in the beginning my friends were staying with me, but then LaF and Perry had a business trip for the lab, and Danny went on vacation with her mom on a trip they’d planned months ago, so… I was staying with Mattie for a bit.”

 

Carmilla hums and stuffs her mouth with food, visibly still upset that this was all going on and she didn’t even know.

Laura sighs and eats some food herself.  “Carm, I’m really sorry we never told you.  That  _ I _ never told you.”

Carmilla pushes her food back and forth for a bit before she finally looks up at Laura.  “Why didn’t you? Because I think we both know the ‘I was waiting for the right time” thing was BS.”

Laura’s face softens.  “Honestly? I think it was like, if I didn’t tell you, then it wouldn’t be real.  You know? I mean, I knew I’d had the surgery. And I was taking the meds. But if I didn’t say it to you, then I wouldn’t have to admit how seriously it could be to myself...”

Carmilla stays silent as Laura works up the strength to speak.

“I wouldn’t have to admit to myself that I’m terrified of dying and of leaving you behind.  I just wanted life to stay happy and fun. Light and casual.” Tears form in her eyes. “Because I didn’t want to face the idea of me dying, because that’s dark and serious and scary--”

Her voice cracks and she begins to cry.

 

Her hiccupping sobs grow more and more out of control and Carmilla watches helplessly as Laura breaks in front of her.  She carefully gives it a while before she finally takes a deep breath.

 

“Okay, stop!  Stop.”

Carmilla takes Laura’s face in her hands and wipes away some tears, even though more are streaming down her cheeks.

“Look, you’re struggling, okay, and you’re allowed to.  Because, Cupcake, the universe is huge and it’s arbitrary and uncaring.  You know, one moment you can get sucked into a Hell pit and the next moment you can get pulverized by a meteor and, really, in the grand spectrum of things, it’ll mean nothing.”

Laura manages to let out a choked laugh as her sobs slow down.  Carmilla lets her go and Laura sniffles before laughing softly. “If this is your cheering-up speech, it needs a little work.”

 

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  ”Okay, I’ve been the dark and broody one in this relationship for the past seven years, so... give me a break.”

They both share a chuckle together.  Laura has stopped crying and Carmilla smiles at her.

“The point is, if nothing means anything then the only thing that means something is what we make.  I mean, you know?  Look at me.  I-I used to use hopelessness as an excuse for all of the awful things that I did.  Until this…” She grins smugly at Laura. “...prissy little overachiever that I was … totally not expecting to know who I am and about my condition just randomly popped up at my circulation desk in a random library showed me I  _ can _ control my own fate and have hope.  Because she thought we all deserved better.  Even me.”

Carmilla chuckles incredulously, still remembering the shock of the first time Laura made her feel like her fears and need for stability were valid but not doomed.  And all the times since.

 

“I’m not thrilled about you keeping the secret from me.  But even though you were struggling and uncertain… it is always so…  _ beautiful _ ...  The way you try.”

Laura stares at her with wide eyes before bursting into tears again.

 

“What?” Carmilla asks, panicked.

“To hell with ‘light and casual,’” Laura sobs.  “I don’t want to be light and casual with you. I don’t want to pretend that what we’ve always had is some stupid, frothy thing that doesn’t matter, because it is like the axis that my world turns on.”  She shakes her head and sniffles. “And, yeah, I could ask for us to go back to ignoring me being sick because this is scary and, and hard, a-and, and maybe the world’s about to end but … if it is, then I want us to have something good to hold on to.”

Laura takes a shaky breath.

“I love you.  Why shouldn’t that be something good?”

“I love you, too,” Carmilla replies softly, kissing Laura gently.

 

“You know, with all this timeline mess, one thing has become clear,” Laura says quietly.

“What?”

Laura sniffles.  “If there’s no real way to completely alter the way our story goes… if nothing we do matters… then all that matters is what we do. ‘Cause that’s all there is. What we do. Now. Today.”  She gives a shy shrug. “If there’s no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.”

 

Laura gives her a small smile and taps on the photo album.

“So when I saw this album at her place, I told her I really liked it.  Last week I mentioned I was putting together a new album for you and my old one was falling apart, so she offered it to me.  And my dad supplied some pictures that I didn’t even know he took.”

Carmilla raises an inquisitive eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

“Let’s keep looking, shall we?”  Laura finally grins. “I’m so happy I started keeping track of when you’d travel away during the present to see me in the past.  You know-- for posterity.”

“Dork,” Carmilla teases, giving her a peck on the cheek.  She frowns. “You’re really warm.”

Laura laughs sheepishly.  “Yeah, that nap actually didn’t do much good.  But I really wanted to show you this.”

“And I’m glad you did,” Carmilla says, kissing Laura on the forehead and letting it linger for a bit.  “How about we finish dinner and call it a night?”

 

“Wait, we’re not done with the album yet!” Laura whines.

Carmilla narrows her eyes at her.  “Fine.” She frowns. “But what else could you have pictures of?”

 

Laura gestures dramatically at the album.  “ _ Well _ , for starters...”

She flips the page with flair.  It reads, “ _ April 17, 2010. Laura, 19. Carmilla, 29. Last time I saw Carmilla travel back to meet me before I met her past self. _ ”

The photo has a page to herself, and it shows Carmilla and Laura laughing together on the couch.

Carmilla lets out a shocked gasp.  “Your dad took this?”

Laura nods.

Carmilla swallows hard and looks at the picture again.  They look so naturally blissful, not knowing they were being watched.  Even knowing it would be the last time Laura would see Carmilla with this level of familiarity for a while, Laura looked light and completely at peace beside Carmilla.  And Carmilla looked completely smitten and happier than she’d ever seen herself in pictures before she met Laura.

 

The next page is a picture of Laura and Carmilla holding a copy of  _ The Future of Us _ , by Jay Asher-- the book Carmilla picked from the book share.  It’s labeled as, “ _ January 2013. Laura, 22. Carmilla, 22.  The start of a whole new Hollstein Story. _ ”

Carmilla’s smile in the photo is much more reserved, and for a moment she considers again how difficult it must’ve been for Laura to go from seeing a loving and warm 29-year-old Carmilla to a Carmilla who regarded her as a random patron in the library.

 

Laura seems to sense this and gives her a small reassuring nudge with her shoulder before she flips the page to a picture of Laura and Carmilla taken by Mattie.  The picture is slightly blurred.

“I bet you Mattie did that on purpose,” Laura grumbles, and Carmilla laughs.

There’s another picture of the two of them with Mattie, taken by Kirsch.  Mattie has a polite smile on her face and is at Carmilla’s side, so Carmilla is between her and Laura.

Kirsch is in the next picture with Carmilla and Laura, making a dopey face behind them as Laura laughs.  He is subtly leaning slightly away from Carmilla, as if still slightly frightened she might beat him up and steal his clothes.

The pages are labeled, “ _ February 2013. January 2013. Laura, 22. Carmilla, 22.  First time at a bar with Mattie. _ ”

“But not the last.  Much to her chagrin,” Laura comments, making Carmilla laugh again.

 

The next page is a few pictures from Carmilla’s twenty third birthday in 2013.  One is a group picture with Laura and Carmilla’s arms around each other’s waists and Kirsch holding up a case of beer proudly, while Danny rolls her eyes and LaF and Perry pose normally.  Mattie is drunkenly grinning from her chair on the side.

Another picture shows Carmilla blowing out the candles on her cake.  And the very last one is of Laura and Carmilla posing with the old photo album.

 

There are a couple pages marked “ _ April 2017 _ ” showing various points of view of Laura’s candlelit proposal in the park following Carmilla’s proposal in the book share.

“You really had no idea I was gonna propose that night?” Carmilla asks.

Laura laughs.  “I had no idea,” she insists.  “Your birthday had just passed and it confirmed you really weren’t going to travel again at 26 years old, which means your Future self had already told you to propose to me.  I thought maybe you were still too scared I’d say no, so I wanted to show you that I  _ wanted _ to marry you.”

“...On the same night that I wanted to show you that  _ I _ wanted to marry you,” Carmilla chuckles.

“Man, we got some serious stink eye from the park security that night,” Laura comments, making Carmilla laugh.  “But it was totally worth it.”

 

They turn the page and Laura grins.

“Definitely worth it.”

 

The next set of pictures is their wedding, showing a Past Laura with the Carmilla who had just traveled back to her this morning.

Walking down the aisle beside each other.

Exchanging vows.

Kissing for the first time as spouses.

Their “first dance.”

Laughing at dinner together, surrounded by friends and family.

And their actual first dance, with a Carmilla from 2020 at last replaced by the Carmilla from 2017.

 

“Good thing I showered this morning, huh?” Carmilla jokes.  “Although, Mattie was less than thrilled about my appearance, showered or no.”

“You  _ still _ didn’t think to go back to me, knowing i was upset?” Laura asks lightly.  “Or. Wait.  _ Did _ you?”

Carmilla smirks.  “I guess you’ll never know what this iteration of me did,” she answers vaguely.

Laura narrows her eyes in a playful glare.  “Meanie.”

“Real mature,” Carmilla comments.

Laura sticks out her tongue and turns the page dramatically, making Carmilla laugh.

 

There are pages between December 2018 and April 2019 of Laura and Carmilla in their new home.

Their first holiday season shows everyone gathered around the fireplace, on the same couch they’re sitting on now, posed for a group picture.  

Carmilla smiles at how they managed to fit the two of them, Mattie, Danny and Betty, LaF and Perry, Kirsch and SJ, and Sherman on or around the couch.

“You know what I never really thanked you for?” Carmilla asks softly.  

“Pretty sure you’ve thanked me for everything under the sun,” Laura teases.  “Maybe even for the sun itself.”

Carmilla chuckles and takes Laura’s hand in hers.

 

She smiles down at the pictures of them opening presents, dancing around the house, drinking and chatting, or even napping together on the couch. Through the holidays and both of their birthdays.

“Thank you for giving me a chosen family,” Carmilla says, pressing a light kiss to Laura’s fingertips.  “You, your friends, and your father have made this very lost girl feel found. It’s a family I got to choose.”

Laura beams at her.  “I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard you say something nice about my friends. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of  _ that-- _ who knows when it’ll happen again.”  Laura bursts into a fit of giggles.

“Ha. Ha,” Carmilla laughs dryly.  “Laugh it up, cupcake.”

 

But she can’t deny that the pictures of them all together doesn’t bring a warm feeling that she never thought she’d feel with a group of people.  And that her smile around them around the fireplace is as genuine as her larger smiles in selfies taken of her sitting next to Laura on their balcony upstairs.

 

“Kinda weird to have this here, isn’t it?” Carmilla asks after she flips the page.

Laura shrugs.  “I dunno. I thought this was kinda cute.”

She runs her hand over the newspaper article clipping from May 2019-- which shows a picture of Carmilla holding Laura in the back of an ambulance.  Laura is in her bra with a blanket thrown over her shoulders, showing the cuts that Will Luce left behind on her torso.

“Besides, it’s what got your mom to realize she could lose you at any moment and freaked her out enough to reach out to us- peacefully.”

Carmilla sighs.  “I still don’t forgive her.”

“Neither do I,” Laura admits.  “For hurting you.” She sighs. “But if this whole heart disease situation-- and your chrono-impairment-- have taught me anything, it’s that there’s no good time to give people a chance to make things right.  And I’m not saying she has, or ever will, but that’s on her to find the time to do it.”

 

She turns the page and gestures at the pictures taken less than two months before.

“And hell no I don’t forgive her for the things she did and said to you, and she’s not anywhere done making amends but...”  Laura lightly bumps her head against Carmilla’s. “At least she started.”

The pictures are taken of all their loved ones gathered to watch the vow renewal.  They’re laughing and smiling in their matching white suits.

 

“I was so scared when you told me about the RHD and the failed surgery,” Carmilla admits, her voice small as her eyes well up.  “You’re my hero, Laura Hollis.”

“And you’re mine, Crazy Naked Lady In The Park,” Laura says sweetly and warmly, making Carmilla laugh through her tears.

 

She wipes her damp cheeks.  “I can’t believe you added all these pics after I met you, too.”

Laura grins.  “Hmm… Well...”  She shows Carmilla the album cover.  Engraved on the cover is, “Hollstein, 1998-???”

“I plan to keep it going all the way, Carm.  Cross my heart. It’s you and me, together forever.”

She flips the page and shows that there are several more blank pages in the album left.

“For all of the time I know in my heart that we will have ahead of us,” Laura says.  “Because you give me the strength to stay optimistic.”

Carmilla lets out a sobbed laugh and kisses Laura on the forehead.

“Let’s get you to sleep, cupcake,” she whispers.  “We’ll dream of tomorrows and these pages being filled with our love for each other.”

Laura nods and gets up, trailed closely by Carmilla into their bedroom.

 

“Happy Birthday, Laura,” Carmilla says gently as she tucks her in.

“The next one will be even better.  I know it,” Laura mumbles before some light snoring is heard.

Carmilla chuckles and goes back out to clean up the food.

 

Once she’s done, Carmilla sits back down with the photo album. And starts to flip through it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)  
> Thank you so much for the feedback on here, on Wattpad, and on Twitter! You can always chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)!  
> The story can also be found on wattpad [here](https://www.wattpad.com/671136850-the-time-traveler%27s-wife-the-beginning).  
> Next update will be next Monday. As always, stay awesome! <3


	28. The Time Traveler's Wife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla returns from another trip to the past to find news about Laura that changes everything forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUPRISE!! Sorry for the late update, but here's the rest of the fic. Plus a present from me to all of you <3

**December 2018**

 

Carmilla frowns when she tries to get her bearings.  It’s somewhere familiar, but it’s not Laura’s childhood home, and it’s not her childhood house, and it’s not _their_ house.  She scans her surroundings for a few seconds before she realizes where she is-- their old apartment.

She runs over to find a folder and notepad inside it to confirm when she is -- December 2018, the day when she traveled away and left Laura to go house-hunting on her own.

 _Well, not if there’s anything I can do about it_.

 

She gets dressed, looks at the address on the notepad and silently thanks the Universe that Laura is so organized that she kept copies of notes for Carmilla, and heads off.

 

“ _I thought you were both supposed to be here today?_ ” Past SJ says from inside.  “ _Buying a house is a pretty big deal.  Surely you need her insight?_ ”

“ _She’s traveling.  Emergency,_ ” Carmilla can hear Past Laura say.

Carmilla turns the door knob and runs in.

“Well, we can reschedule.  She really should be here--”

“And here I am!” Carmilla shouts out breathlessly.

 

Past Laura stares at Carmilla and frowns in confusion.

“Hi, Carmilla.  Glad you could join us in spite of your... emergency trip,” Past SJ says slowly.  “So, we’ve just completed a tour of the house, but we can do another--”

“This isn’t it,” Carmilla interrupts.  “This isn’t our home.”

Past SJ cocks her head to the side, perplexed.  “You don’t even want to--?”

“Nope,” she interrupts.  “Lemme see the itinerary for today.”

 

Past Laura gives Past SJ a polite smile and gently tugs Carmilla away by the elbow.  “Can we have just one moment, SJ? Thanks.”

In the next room, Past Laura finally releases her.

“What year are you from?” she asks in a whisper.

Carmilla chuckles.  “2020. How’d you know?”

“There is no way your hair grew that quickly from when I saw you this morning,” Past Laura says.

“I will always love Laura Hollis deductions,” Carmilla comments, making Past Laura giggle. “Anyway, I’m here to help you find our home.  Or at least, that’s what happened in my timeline. And it’s a pretty amazing home, if I do say so myself. So why mess with that?”

Past Laura crosses her arms.  “Kinda takes the fun out of house hunting together.”

Carmilla pats Past Laura on the arm.  “We’ll get our kicks some other way, buttercup.”

 

She leads Past Laura back to Past SJ.

“Itinerary, please,” Carmilla requests.

Past SJ looks inquisitively over at Past Laura, who nods, so she hands it over.

Carmilla scans the list before smiling at Past Laura. She sees the address for their house, but it’s not available until later in the day. “Well, cutie, you got your wish.  We still get the fun of house hunting together.” She hands the list back to Past SJ. “Do we have time for another quick tour of this house?”

 

Carmilla grins, already excited to pick out their chaise from one of the houses and seeing their house and balcony again before they bought it.   _This is gonna be fun._

 

* * *

 

**April 2020**

 

“Cup-kee, I’m hoooome,” Carmilla sings out when she returns.

 

Normally she wouldn’t enter with such a flair but in the past few months, Laura’s health had taken a slight turn for the worse.  After the fever on her birthday, there’d be quite a bunch more, accompanied by a couple hospital visits.

 

A couple weeks before Carmilla’s birthday, Laura had complained about some chest pain, and this time they took her to LaFontaine’s lab. This made it easier to run tests and keep an eye on her condition. She had her own private room here, and there were no “visitors hours,” so Carmilla had just been staying with her all day and night.  Laura’s friends and father were dropping off things they needed, with Mattie under orders to take Carmilla out for a meal or to hang out for a bit once every other day.

The group also took turns going to the house to pick up new books off the shelf for Carmilla and Laura to read together to pass the time.

 

Although in pain and weak, Laura’s spirits remained high and bright.

And Carmilla would be damned before she’d let that light dim for even a second.

 

And yet, when her vision clears as she adjusts to traveling back to 2020, she’s faced with an empty bed.

But not an empty room.

 

“Oh!  Welcome back, Karnstein,” LaFontaine greets from their work bench that they set up in Laura’s room. ”So, uhm… you….”  They clear throat nervously. “You’ve been gone for a while.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow.  “How long is ‘a while?’”

“About a week and a half,” another voice replies, as two people walk past her.  “Here’s your coffee, LaFontaine.” Perry smiles awkwardly at Carmilla. “Do you want me to get you one?”

“No, I want you to tell me where Laura is,” Carmilla replies, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice.  She vaguely registers that Mattie had walked in with Perry.

 

Perry and LaF share a look.

“What happened?  Where is she?” Carmilla demands.

“Okay, sis, let’s sit you down.  Take a breath,” Mattie says carefully.

“I’m not doing a damn thing until I get some answers!” Carmilla shakes her head with a growl.  “Please don’t tell me she left me.  Not after all of this.” Her voice cracks.  “Please.  _Please_!”

 

Her body starts to tingle and her eyes widen.

“Carm, you need to take a breath and calm down or you’ll travel again,” Mattie says gently.  She turns to Perry. “Get her meds.”

 

Perry nods and prepares a syringe, while Carmilla closes her eyes and takes deep breaths.

“I can’t believe you were so busy fussing over Hollis that you forgot to take your meds,” Mattie chides.  “Do you have any idea how much has happened since you left?”

“What. Happened.”  Carmilla’s tone is sharp, but her voice is more controlled now.

 

“It got really bad,” Mattie says.  “About a day after you traveled away.  She had a stroke and… and her heart… It just couldn’t take much more.”

Carmilla chokes back a sob and her hands clench into fists.  “And I wasn’t here.”

 

“She was scared, but she wasn’t alone,” Perry promises.  “We were all here. And we all made a decision to agree with LaFontaine’s idea.”

 

Carmilla looks up at Perry, then at LaFontaine, and then at Mattie.

“Wh-What idea?”

The other two defer to LaFontaine who gulps.

“Well… Uhm… Don’t f-freak out...”

 

Before they can finish their explanation, Laura suddenly appears in the middle of the room.

Naked.

 

“Well, that was a rush,” Laura manages to mumble before her knees give out.

A shocked Carmilla manages to catch her and hold her up.

Mattie walks over with a change of clothes that had been folded up on the bed.  “Welcome back, Hollis.”

 

Carmilla gapes at Laura as she slowly gets dressed.  She remains speechless until Laura is fully clothed, and even then all she can manage is stammering, “I-I… H-How?”

Laura winces and looks over to LaFontaine.  “Uhm, I’m kinda still adjusting. LaF, can you…?”

 

They clear their throat and nod.  “Right, right. So I know you never really cared for the science mumbo-jumbo about what your treatment is.  But after all those tests on you, I narrowed down that the duration of your trips for us non-time travelers is affected by your heart.  Which is why a lot of Laura’s check-ups were similar to your tests. Your heart rate before and after travel affect how long you’re gone for us.”  They shrug. “I still have no idea how to control when _you_ leave us or when you travel to, but...”

LaF gestures at Laura.  They seem frustrated.

“This next part, I got lectured for using too much scientific jargon last time I explained.  Someone help.”

Laura clears her throat and meets Carmilla’s gaze.

“LaF’s idea was to inject me with _your_ treatment.  They figured it might help with the strain on my heart like it does with yours.  So they did one dose and it kept me alive and kicking and then they did another and eventually I got well enough to wake up and consent to continuing the treatment.  And clearly it still worked because… I’m still here.”

 

LaF nods.  “During these past couple years, I realized that the gene for Laura inheriting a predisposition to RHD from her mom was a lot like an abnormal gene I’ve seen in Carm and her dad’s DNA.  They’re not exactly the same, but… Well, they both have to deal with cytokine production--”

Laura clears her throat to politely interrupt.

“Basically after almost a week of these treatments, something in it triggered something in me.  And I traveled.”

She lets Carmilla sit with this for a bit before speaking again.

“It was, ah, weird.  There was this high-pitched ringing and my started body tingling.  It was like... my entire existence was being pulled apart and instantly put back together.”

 

Carmilla doesn’t say anything, just staring down at her hands in her lap.

“Can you all give us a moment?” Laura asks.

Mattie is the first to get up, with Perry grabbing LaFontaine to follow her out when she realizes they’ve become engrossed in their computer screen.

 

Once Mattie closes the door behind her, Laura lets out a sigh.  “Carm? Are you mad at me?”

“What?  No!” Carmilla replies immediately.  “I… God, if you hadn’t done this, I would’ve come back to you dea…  I _thought_ I came back to you dea...d.”

Laura nods, but doesn’t push for Carmilla to talk again until she’s ready.

 

Carmilla takes a few long, shaky breaths.

“You were supposed to stay safe.  You were supposed to have nice little life outside of my weirdness, Laura.”

Laura huffs out a small laugh.   **“** Yeah… Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have been me.”

 

 

Carmilla shakes her head.  “No.  No!  This is NOT how your story ends!  Screw that.  Screw giving up!  Screw just letting go!”

“We’re not letting go or giving up,” Laura says gently.  “We just… have to adjust. Together. You’ve come so far since that day in the library when you met me and… I’m so proud of you.”  
Carmilla sniffles.  “You’re not worried about how we’ll spend our lives together?”  
“I figure any two people in a relationship, their lives move at different speeds.  That isn’t the part that matters.”  She pats Carmilla’s leg.  “This, here, right now.  This is what matters.” Laura takes Carmilla’s hand in hers.  “And I love you.”  
**“** I love you, too,” Carmilla replies with a sob, giving Laura’s hand a squeeze.

 

She sighs.  “Goddamnit.  Of all the imbecilic, idiot, suicidal … you just had to go and get yourself turned into a time traveler.”  Then something occurs to her, and her eyes widen in horror. “Oh, God, what if we both keep traveling away from each other?”

Laura laughs, and then laughs harder at Carmilla’s bewildered look.

“Ah, we didn’t get that far in our explanation, I guess.”

Laura takes a deep breath.

 

“Carm… I can control when and where I travel to.”

 

Carmilla’s mouth drops open.  “W-Wh...What?”

“We think it’s whatever that slight difference is in that gene that LaF was talking about.  The first couple times I traveled, I was too overwhelmed. But then it was like this weird instinct.  Sort of like learning to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze. Like a reflex or muscle I’d never known I had.  And the next time I traveled I was somehow able to try and target my destination. I tried aiming myself to you knowing you’d traveled to December 2018,  but instead I ended up… ...Well, that’s spoilers.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow and Laura giggles.

“So the time after that I tried again and I had just missed you doing the house tours with Past Me.”

Carmilla stares at her, slowly working through everything Laura had just told her.

 

“Carm, LaF thinks that maybe if they can run some more tests on us… maybe they can figure out how your heart treatment gave me chrono-impairment and how my gene can control where and when we travel to and… you’ll be able to control it, too.”

Laura offers a small smile.

“Then we won’t have to worry about either of us traveling away from the other ever again.  No more waiting-- for the rest of our lives. It’s also probably why I’ve never seen you past this age.”

 

“As great as that sounds… I still didn’t want you to be doomed like me,” Carmilla sighs.

“At least we’re together.  I don’t want to be doomed with anyone but you,” Laura says sweetly.

Carmilla chuckles.  “Cross your heart?”

Laura nods.  “Cross my heart and hope to travel.”

 

She leans forward and captures Carmilla’s lips in a kiss, laughing when Carmilla pulls her in closer.

Carmilla pulls away first and looks annoyed.  “Dammit. I’m traveling again. All of this excitement must’ve been too much before that dose LaF gave me kicked in.”

 

She starts to fade from view and Laura grins at her. **“** Race you!”

Carmilla’s laughter fades with her as she vanishes before Laura’s eyes.

 

And Laura smiles, collecting the pile of clothes left behind, and carefully putting the wedding ring in Carmilla’s pocket.

Because now, Carmilla too is a time traveler’s wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	29. The Picture Perfect Day At the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adjusting to the new situation, Carmilla learns why her fate has been intertwined with Laura's, and always will be.

**November 2021**

 

The house is empty, and it’s evident that it hasn’t been lived in for months.  The front door’s lock clicks open and Perry pops her head in. She frowns in disgust.

“It’s filthy in here.”

“Per, there hasn’t been anyone living here since like, New Year’s.”

 

Perry steps into the house.  “I know, LaFontaine, I know. I guess just… knowing Carmilla, I thought it’d be cleaner in here with  _ no one _ living here anymore.”

It was an exaggeration but, to be fair, Perry was doing most of the cleaning even when someone was living here. 

“It’s not like Carm’s been around ever since the whole thing with Laura,” Mattie chimes in from behind them.  

 

“Tsk, Mattie, be a little understanding,” Perry chides.  “Would  _ you _ stick around after that?”

Mattie crosses her arms and narrows her eyes in a glare.  “I wouldn’t  _ be _ in that situation, because I would never allow myself to get so sentimental.”

LaF sighs.  “I’m pretty used to this house without Carm.  But the house without Laura? Man, it’s rough.”

Mattie sits down with a sigh.  “Yeah, I know. I’m going to miss her annoying chattering.”

“Well, we can at least be good friends to Carmilla in her absence.  Let’s clean the house for… whenever..” Perry quickly walks off to get a vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies.

The thing that’s been touched most frequently are the books on the bookshelf.

 

Mattie rolls her eyes.  “Definitely not doing anything so trashy.”  She sits on the couch and picks up whatever’s on the seat next to her to move it so she can have more sitting room.  The letters on the front catches her eye, scribbled in crayon and faded from a couple decades. But the album itself is newer, and familiar to Mattie.

_ “Laura & Carm _ .”

 

She opens the photo album and smiles at a bunch of pictures she had never seen before of Laura and her friends celebrating a birthday party, captioned, “ _ Danny’s birthday, 1997. _ ”  And someone else in the background.

 

In fact, quite a bunch of “someone elses” catch her eye.

 

There’s an adult Carmilla.  Next to an adult Laura.

With another adult Laura watching.

And another adult Carmilla, unaware of all of their presences.

 

But the Laura with Carmilla aren’t looking at the little kids celebrating Danny’s birthday in 1997.  No, their focus is on another kid.

* * *

 

**May 1997**

 

“Whoa,” Laura says as she gets her bearings.

“This is starting to become the most well-traveled attic,” Carmilla comments from beside her.

 

Laura looks around the attic and her eyes widen as she takes it all in.  “This is before my mom died,” she comments, noting that none of her mom’s clothes are up here.

Carmilla nods gravely, having already wandered around the house while waiting for Laura to appear. “May 1997.” 

“Wait!  Oh my god!  We have to get dressed and get to the park!” Laura squeals excitedly, grabbing the clothes Carmilla must’ve gotten from Laura’s mother’s room while waiting for her.

 

A few weeks after Carmilla had returned to find Laura could time travel in April 2020, LaFontaine had found a way to begin altering Carmilla’s treatment so maybe she could also target where and when she travels to.

True to form, Carmilla tuned them out when they explained how, but it had something to do with alleles.

 

In the past year and a half, Carmilla had continued to struggle with this.  LaF surmised that it might be that the time traveling is like a “muscle”-- Carmilla had been using hers for so long that suddenly trying to get her condition to do something new would take more time than Laura, who had figured out how to control her time traveling from the start.

Laura’s travels were pretty regular - once a month or so, and she was usually able to be back before Carmilla even noticed she was gone.

 

Her eyes would light up as she talked of her travels-- most of them were to go back and see Carmilla’s childhood somehow, but she never dared to interact with her.  And a few had been to go back and observe her own mother. Those stories were Carmilla’s favorites.

 

The time they did have in their present time was usually spent working, or out and about, enjoying the freedom of living in the moment.  They traveled around the world on one-way plane tickets and daydreamed about how one day, Carmilla’s condition would be under control enough that they could start their family.

 

Carmilla’s traveling became less and less frequent again with the treatments, but when she did travel, Laura found herself getting better and better at finding Carmilla.

 

And so, a couple weeks after Carmilla traveled away, Laura managed to find Carmilla in May 1997.

 

“Come  _ on _ !” Laura says insistently, tugging Carmilla out the front door.  “To the park!”

“Calm down, cupcake,” Carmilla grumbles, almost losing her footing as she’s dragged down the street by Laura.  “What is the goddamn hurry?”

Laura does slow down, mostly because they’re getting looks.  “You’ll seeee,” she replies excitedly, bouncing into the park.

 

She stops short and tugs Carmilla back when they see Past Carmilla appear behind the shrubbery.  It takes her a moment before Past Carmilla realizes where she is, and frantically looks around for some clothes.

“Damn, do I always look so confused?” Carmilla whispers as they duck behind a tree.

Laura giggles and nods.  “It’s cute.”

“Nuh uh,” Carmilla grumbles.

 

It doesn’t take long for a small girl to come strolling down the path, grumbling to herself.

Past Carmilla calls out to Past Little Laura, making the girl jump and scream.  Past Carmilla takes a step towards her and Past Little Laura starts to yell until Past  Carmilla lunges forward and clamps her hand over her mouth and muffes her scream.

“Way to scar a small six year old for life,” Laura mumbles under her breath.

Carmilla chuckles.  “You know, we still never figured out why our lives were intertwined from this moment on.  I’ve traveled back dozens of times and interacted with plenty of people and, other than Mattie, I never traveled back to see them over and over again.  Or why you’re able to travel back into  _ my _ life.”

Laura grins.  “I have an idea why.”

 

She points up the hill behind Past Carmilla’s shrubbery and Carmilla squints before her mouth drops open.

“What the time traveling heck?”

Laura laughs.  “This is when I traveled to in April last year when I went looking for you to tell you I could time travel now, too.”

They continue looking up the hill and after a few moments, Past Adult Laura spots them in confusion.  She gives a small hesitant wave. Laura waves back.

“Don’t be rude.  Wave,” Laura snaps at Carmilla, who offers an awkward wave.

“So when you traveled back in April 2020, you  _ did _ find me.  Just not the me from April 2020,” Carmilla clarifies.

Laura nods.  “There’s someone else here we should see, but it won’t be for a bit.”

 

By now, Past Carmilla has clearly calmed  Past Little Laura down, and Past Little Laura runs past them to go and get Past Carmilla clothes.

Carmilla and Laura run up the hill to Past Adult Laura.

“Here,” Laura says to Past Adult Laura, following what she saw her future self do when she was in this position.  “Got you a dress.”

“Thanks,” her past self says.  “This is, uh, kinda weird.”

Laura laughs.  “It’s about to only get weirder.”

 

“When are you guys from?” Past Adult Laura asks.

“November 2021,” Carmilla replies.  She looks around them. “Laura-- uhm, 2021 Laura, we should go back into hiding.  It’s gonna look weird that there are two Yous standing--” Her eyes widen and Laura grins at her.  

“See something, Carm?”

 

“Th… Th-That’s me,” Carmilla stammers as her eyes focus on something.

Past Adult Laura frowns.  “You mean, down the hill in the bushes?”

Carmilla shakes her head, her mouth turning dry.

Laura points in the direction Carmilla is focusing on, and Past Adult Laura slowly turns.  “All I see down the hill is some little girl putting down her backpack and pulling out a book about constella--”  Her mouth drops open. “Oh.”

She lets out a small gasp.

“Oh, my god.  Carm, is that you in this time?”

Carmilla nods, clearly still in shock.

 

“Wait.  Wait a  _ minute _ ,” Past Adult Laura exclaims as something clicks in her mind.  “I recognize this girl! I remember seeing her in my grade and always being in awe that she was always reading about stars and...”  She shakes her head. “But we’re not the same age. How were we in the same grade?!”

“I...”  Carmilla swallows hard.  “After my dad died at the end of 1995, I couldn’t focus in school and had to be held back a year.  After a couple years, I got back on track for my age, so they put me back in the grade I was supposed to be in.  Another reason I didn’t have a lot of friends..”

Past Adult Laura is still processing.  “But I don’t remember anyone in school named Carmilla.”

Carmilla swallows hard.  “I was born Mircalla Morgan.  I legally changed my name in high school to defy my mother.  It’s what started that final big fight when I ran away for good.”

 

Past Adult Laura bunches up her face in concentration.  “So… could this be why our lives are so intertwined?”

“She gets it,” Laura giggles.

“Well, I don’t,” Carmilla grumbles.

Past Adult Laura gestures around them.  “I mean… There’s three versions of all of us in this park,” she comments.  “Both of us as children in 1997, you from 2013 hiding in the bushes, me from 2020, and you both from 2021.  If the very first iterations of us all managed to do this, then couldn’t the Universe have started some grand scheme of sending different versions of us on some loop across time so that we’d keep meeting over and over?”

 

“Think on that for the next year and a half,” Laura says to herself.  “And see you around, coz we might start to get those looks from people that Carm was worried about.”

Laura drags Carmilla back down the hill and across the path.  Just as they take their spot behind the tree, Past Little Laura comes running back, clothes in hand for Past Carmilla.

Laura and Carmilla watch them speak for a bit as Past Carmilla clearly starts annoying Past Little Laura, who stomps her feet and seems irritated that Past Carmilla begins following her.  The two of them sit down on a bench to talk.

 

“You’ve been holding onto the knowledge that our lives have actually been intersecting since before May 1997 for the past year and a half?” Carmilla asks incredulously, once they’ve made sure they’re out of sight of Past Carmilla.

“Why do you think I’ve been babbling about everything else?” Laura jokes.  “Didn’t wanna spoil the surprise.”

Carmilla shakes her head with a chuckle.  “Well, color me surprised.”

 

They watch as Past Little Laura, inspired by whatever Past Carmilla just told her, runs off to go and rejoin the birthday party celebration.

“It’s kinda funny,” Carmilla says, noting that Past Adult Laura is still watching them from afar since Past Carmilla remains nearby, “I used to be so scared of losing you.  But now I know that even if the whole world burns, I won’t lose you again.  The Universe would just keep bringing us back together. ”  She laughs softly.  “Hell, if even gave me three of you at once.”

Laura leans forward and captures Carmilla’s lips, deepening the kiss when she feels Carmilla smile against her.

 

“Now it’s just two of me,” Laura whispers, pointing up the hill.  Carmilla turns and sees that Past Adult Laura has vanished.

Carmilla looks back at Laura and smiles.  “The Universe just can’t handle three Laura Hollises being in the same place at the same time for too long.”

 

“Excuse me,” a woman says.  Laura’s eyes widen and Carmilla frowns when it looks like Laura is about to faint.

Carmilla turns and she can understand Laura’s reaction.

 

“H...Hi,” the woman says, slightly confused by Laura and Carmilla’s reactions.  “Uhm, I hope you don’t mind, but the two of you were in the group picture I just took of my daughter celebrating a friend’s birthday.”

When it’s obvious Laura isn’t capable of speaking, Carmilla clears her throat.  “That’s fine.”

“Oh, good.  I just really wanted to get the skyline in frame in the background.  But didn’t wanna be a creeper without getting your consent since, y’know, consent is important.”  The woman pauses. “Actually, do you mind if you take a picture of me and my daughter?”

“I don’t mind at all,” Carmilla replies sincerely.

 

“Great!”  The woman cups her hands around her mouth.  “Laura, honey! Can you come over here for a second?”

Past Little Laura comes running over, cake smeared on her cheek.  “Yes, mommy?”

Eileen laughs and kisses her clean cheek.  “You’re a mess, dear. But you’re my mess.”  She hands Carmilla the camera.

“You changed your clothes,” Past Little Laura says, confused.

Carmilla and Laura share a look.

 

“Well, uh, yeah.  Don’t you?” Carmilla asks.

Past Little Laura frowns, clearly knowing something is up that she doesn’t quite understand.

“Pose for a picture with me, please?” Eileen asks.

Past Little Laura huffs.  “Another one?”

“Yes, yes.  I know. But come on, it’s a nice day.”  Eileen looks back at Carmilla and Laura. “I just love taking pictures.  My husband jokes that our daughter will end up camera-obsessed like me.”

Laura finally finds the strength to speak.  “She should be so lucky,” she says sweetly.

 

Carmilla holds out the camera.  “La…  _ She’s _ actually a way better photographer than I am,” she comments.

Laura takes it carefully and swallows hard.

“You can do this, cupcake,” Carmilla says softly to her.

Laura nods and peers through the viewfinder, zooming and working on the focusing.  Her finger hovers over the shutter button and trembles. Holding her breath, she finally presses it.

“Thank you so much,” Eileen says, taking the camera back.  “You can go back to your friends, honey,” she says to Past Little Laura.

“Okay, mommy.  Love youuuu!” she yells as she runs off.

 

Carmilla chuckles and realizes Eileen is still standing near them.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before,” she says.

“We’re just visiting the area,” Carmilla says carefully.  “But just passing through.”

Eileen looks over at Laura.  “This might be weird, but even though I know I’ve never seen you before, I feel like we’ve met.”

“M-Must be one of those faces,” Laura laughs nervously.  “Or, uhm. Two.”

“Must be,” Eileen replies slowly.

 

She cocks her head to the side and smiles, and Carmilla can’t ignore that it’s Laura’s same exact smile.

“This birthday party doesn’t seem to be winding down any time soon.  Want to keep chatting? Unless you have somewhere to go. It’s perfectly fine if you do.  I’m just some stranger in the park, after all.”

Carmilla smiles when she realizes Laura also got her rambling from her.  She looks over at Laura, who nods shyly before blurting out an enthusiastic, “Yeah! Okay!”

“I’d like that very much,” Carmilla chuckles.

 

They spent a couple hours chatting with Eileen.

Laura blurts out that her name is Buffy in a panic, blushing when Carmilla lets out a snort.  After that she manages to calm down and talk about her job as a journalist and her dabbling in photography and video diaries, stumbling a bit before lying over their formatting.  For once, Carmilla’s truth is easier to tell, and soon enough the sun is beginning to set as kids and their parents start leaving the party.

 

Past Little Laura comes running over, holding a small party favor bag.  “I thought you were supposed to hide in the bushes.”

Carmilla clears her throat when Eileen raises an eyebrow at her.

“You’re right.  Let’s go play hide-and-seek,” Carmilla manages to think up as she gestures for Past Little Laura to follow her, if only to give Laura as much time with her mom as possible.

 

They make it around the corner on the path, away from earshot and sight of Eileen before Past Little Laura stops short.

“What is going on?” she growls, crossing her arms.  “I know you’re not the same crazy lady I spoke to earlier.  You’re even way older!”

Carmilla narrows her eyes.  “Such a charmer.” She sighs.  “Okay, look. I’m Carmilla from even further into the future than the version of me you met earlier.  So you should probably come back here for the clothes later, too, coz they also belong to your mom.”

“And who’s the lady you’re with that’s talking to my mom?”

“Just some lady your mom met in the park,” Carmilla replies.  She doesn’t like lying to Laura, but she figures that Laura wouldn’t mind this one.  “Look, I know you’re not gonna listen to me but you can’t tell anyone about me.”

 

Past Little Laura bunches up her face.  “You’re right.” She crosses her arms. “I’m not gonna listen to you.”

With that, she goes to head back to her mom and Carmilla closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking a deep breath before following her.

“That was quick,” Eileen comments.

“I wanna go home now,” Past Little Laura declares before walking to leave the park.

Eileen laughs, and again Carmilla notes how much Laura resembles her mother.  “Okay, okay. Guess my fearless leader has given me my orders.”

She smiles at Laura and Carmilla.

 

“It was lovely meeting you two and chatting with you.  You’re both such fun and wonderful women.”

“Nice to meet you,” Carmilla says when Laura doesn’t reply right away.

Laura swallows hard.  “I’m grateful we saw you today, too. You’re a… You are such a strong, warm, powerful woman,” she says, trying to keep her voice from cracking.  “And your daughter is lucky to have a role model like you.”

“Thank you so much.  I’m lucky to have her,” Eileen says. “Speaking of her, I should catch up to her before my husband finds out I wasn’t glued to her side the entire time and he has a conniption.”

 

She flashes another beaming smile and then waves as she goes to exit the park.

 

Laura stares as the footsteps fade away.

Carmilla stands there for a bit before quietly taking Laura’s hand.

“That was…”  Laura laughs softly and brings Carmilla’s hand up to her lips and presses a kiss against it.  “I mean,  _ me _ being the one to take my favorite picture of my mom and me?  I know that there’s a scientific reason for our time traveling, but I’m convinced that was magic.”

“I would agree,” Carmilla says sincerely.

 

They walk over to a park bench and sit.

“I just wish I could control when and where I end up,” Carmilla sighs.

“You’ll figure it out.  And I’ll be right with you every step of the way,” Laura comments, leaning her head on Carmilla’s shoulder.  Carmilla chuckles, and leans her head on Laura’s.

 

A few moments pass in peaceful silence before Laura looks up to find Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“What’s with the bump, grump?” Laura asks, making Carmilla chuckle again.

“I was just thinking how… before I met you, I felt like I didn’t have a home.  And then I met you and I felt like I always had a home to travel back to.”

Laura frowns and gently pulls away.  “‘Felt?’ You don’t feel that way anymore?”

Carmilla shakes her head.  “Because now I know that you being in my life doesn’t mean I have to go somewhere-- or somewhen-- to go home.  The feeling of home you gave me goes with me.”

“Literally,” Laura jokes.

Carmilla laughs and shakes her head again.  “I mean, yes. You literally following me through time and space is a bit more on the nose.  But even before you got chrono-impairment to treat your heart disease… I felt it. Whether I traveled to see you or not, it always felt like you were with me.”

 

Carmilla leans forward and Laura meets her halfway for a loving kiss.

 

They stay on the bench well after the sun has gone down.  And then suddenly, both vanish minutes apart. And all that’s left is two piles of clothes.

 

From two time-traveling wives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>


	30. The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not the end.

**????**

  
  
  


WIth continued treatment, Carmilla’s traveling becomes less frequent than Laura’s, who remains traveling away once a month like clockwork.  After Carmilla finally learns to handle when and where she travels to, LaFontaine develops a drug that can force Carmilla to travel.

 

She and Laura begin to set predetermined destinations to meet each other throughout time and space.  Laura starts vlogging stories of their adventures, adding a “#HollsteinTravels” hashtag. Carmilla continues to insist they should be called “Karnlis.” 

After a couple years of this, they finally decide to tackle the biggest point on their planned life together-- a child.

 

LaFontaine’s chrono-impairment/RHD study grows, and Perry and Danny’s mother are in charge with helping them with finding new people to bring into it and administer treatments to.  Carmilla’s mother pours funding from her company into it.

One late summer night in the office, Lilita Morgan leaves her headquarters to find an abandoned baby carriage with an infant inside mysteriously left outside of her door, with a simple namecard that reads, “Eileen.”  Security camera footage shows a scared young woman, and LaFontaine’s tests confirm that this baby has the marker for chrono-impairment.

 

Still working to right her many wrongs, Lilita tells Carmilla and Laura about this baby and the timing works out great.  They adopt her and keep her name. Both agree before the adoption is finalized that they will teach her about chrono-impairment by the time she starts school.

 

Eileen has Carmilla’s quiet tact, but Laura’s strong fire.

 

She travels at age nine for the first time.

 

For the first time, Carmilla sees what Laura is like waiting for a time traveler to return, and has an entirely new appreciation for her ability to stay busy without it seeming like she’s throwing herself into things just to avoid thinking about the other person.

On the other hand, Carmilla is a scared mess, going from moments of panic and anxiety to diving into her books.  Whenever Laura catches her doing either of these things, she puts her work aside and takes Carmilla out to their balcony, and they curl up against each other on the chaise, reading books from the bookshelf together until she can feel Carmilla relax.

 

When Eileen returns days later, she seems discombobulated, but otherwise calm.  She claims that “both mommy and mom helped me understand what’s going on.”

From what they can tell, she traveled to the future, but they don’t know to when.  In fact, she approaches her traveling with the same wide-eyed adventurous spirit as Laura.  They give her the option to take the same treatment as them to help control the traveling, but she seems excited at the possibilities, so for now they allow her to explore time and space on her own.

 

Carmilla teaches Eileen how to pick locks and other useful tricks, just in case.  Laura enrolls her in krav maga classes.

 

And for years, they allow Eileen the freedom to live as herself, with a welcoming home and two loving mothers wait for her return every time.

 

“Hey, Carm,” Laura calls out, typing away at her latest article.  “Have you seen Eileen this morning?”

Carmilla walks in with a cup of coffee for herself, and another one for Laura.  “She traveled away last night after you went to bed.”

Laura nods and gives her a grateful smile as she takes the coffee refill.

 

“Whatcha writing about?” Carmilla asks, settling in across the dining room table from Laura.

“Anniversary of the apprehension of the Goat Kidnapper,” Laura says, pausing her typing.  “I struck a deal with all those big newspapers to let me post my story to my blog, and they’ll get to share the post to their sites so we can split the traffic.”

Carmilla smiles.  “That’s nice. Kinda scared to ask but, this means you’re gonna visit Will, aren’t you?”

Laura laughs nervously as she stares into her coffee cup.

“Laura...”  Carmilla narrows her eyes suspiciously.  “What did you do?”

“I may have gone yesterday to see him...”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen.  “You did  _ what _ ?”

“Well, Mattie whisked you away for a sisterly bonding day, and I got the confirmation about the post after you left, so... ”  Laura huffs. “She who jumps into sisterly bonding days with no warning does not get to whine about her butt-hurt.”

Carmilla chuckles.  “Oh, is that so?”

Laura nods seriously.  “Yes. It is a very well-known fact that…”  She clears her throat adorably. “...I just made up right now.”

“Oh really?” Carmilla asks with a smirk.

Laura nods again.  “Yes,” she repeats.

“Yeah?  You just make up all the rules now?” Carmilla continues, getting up and approaching Laura, who’s grinning.

“Well, that’s what happens when one of us clearly mastered this time-traveling thing much faster,” Laura teases.

Carmilla laughs while leaning in for a kiss and Laura meets her halfway.

 

“M-Mommy?” a small voice asks from the doorway.

Laura’s eyes snap open and she pulls away from Carmilla.

“Eileen?” Laura frowns, noting that this girl is not the teenager who she saw last night before she went to bed.

The girl looks terrified as Laura runs to grab a blanket off the couch and wraps it around her, noting that the pile of clothes left behind would be too big on her and a blanket might feel more welcoming and safe.

Carmilla walks off to the kitchen.

 

“Eileen, sweetie,” Laura says softly, “how old are you?”

“N-Nine,” Eileen sniffles.

Laura nods.  “You’ve just time-traveled for the first time.”

The little child’s eyes widen.  “I did?”

“Yes.  Lucky for all of us, you teleported right back to us in the future,” Laura says, realizing why Eileen returned from her first trip so calm and excited.

 

Carmilla returns with a small cup of hot cocoa.

“You remember all the things we told you about traveling, right, cupcake?” Carmilla asks, handing it to her as they sit her down by the fireplace.

Eileen nods seriously.  “I can’t control when or where I go, especially my first time.  After that, it’ll be my choice if I want to take some medication like you two do.  I can’t take anything with me when I travel. I won’t know how long I’ll be gone or when I’ll get back to my time.  And I shouldn’t tell anyone I see what I can do unless it’s someone I know can be trusted.”

Laura kisses the top of her head.  “Are you scared? It’s okay if you are.”

“A little,” Eileen sniffles.

“I was really, really scared when I traveled,” Carmilla says gently, kneeling down in front of her.  “So you’re braver than I am. Just like your mommy.”

Eileen beams at Carmilla, a smile just like Laura’s.  “But you stopped being scared when you met Mommy!”

Carmilla laughs.  “I did. Coz your mommy is amazing.”

“Your mom is also pretty darn amazing,” Laura says warmly, patting Carmilla on the shoulder before turning her attention back to Eileen.  “And so are you.”

Carmilla nods, giving Eileen a kiss on the cheek and smiling as she giggles.

 

“Do you want us to answer questions?” Laura asks.  “Or, I’m sure when you travel back to your time, we can answer them then.  We can do something else while you’re here.”

Eileen perks up.  “Can I see the album?  Of you and Mom?”

 

Laura grins and reaches under the couch, pulling out a dusty album.  Carmilla leaves and comes back with a cloth to wipe the cover.

“We haven’t looked at it in a while,” Laura says as they clean it and then open it carefully.

“And can you tell it like a story like you used to when I was little?” Eileen asks.

Carmilla chuckles, climbing onto the couch so Eileen is sitting between them.  “Mommy does tell the best stories.”

“Uh huh!” Eileen says, snuggling against Carmilla’s side.

Laura laughs and clears her throat dramatically.

 

“Well… here I was, one fine Saturday in May 1997.  I had just had a fight with your Auntie Danny. I was a little younger than you are now.  And I was determined to run away and never come back to see her again.”

“But you did,” Eileen prompts excitedly.

Laura looks over at Carmilla and laughs.

“Yes.  Because this crazy naked lady was hiding in the bushes and scared me… And this crazy naked lady knew my name and said she was a time traveler...”

EIleen looks back and forth between her loving mothers.  “And you never thought you’d end up...”

 

Laura and Carmilla give each other loving smiles.

“And I never thought  _ we’d _ end up... time traveler wives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, creampuffs. Where do I even begin?
> 
> I began planning out this story on May 29, 2018. I never would've believed that the next eleven months would be such a ride.  
> This fic went through a couple rewrites which is why, as some of you noticed, the dates in chapters might've changed after I posted them. Some time gaps didn't make sense, and other events were written in because I truly loved this world I was building.  
> And a couple of times while writing this, I wasn't sure I'd even share it.  
> But I am _so_ glad I did.
> 
> I hold that Ao3 readers have always been the best part of this fandom-- the most supportive, engaging, and lovely people that this series could have ever brought together. And throughout sharing this story, and all the ones before it, you've all been so good at helping me try to get over my insecurity about my writing. Your kind words, kudos, and views mean so much more to me than you'll ever know.
> 
> If you were reading my stuff a few years ago, you might remember that I tried posting a story from different POVs. It was quickly taken down because, I'll admit it-- it didn't work.  
> But a month ago I decided to try that again, as a present to you amazing, magnificent people.  
> I've rewritten this entire fic, not from Carmilla's POV of their relationship, but from Laura's. In fact, it's the new iteration that split from _this_ Carmilla traveling back, so I've even thrown in some very very minor changes in each chapter.  
> I'm not totally done revamping all the chapters yet, but you can find that story [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18660673/chapters/44253625).  
> AND! If you want a nifty guide to keep the two timelines in order, you can find it [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-y3XnLnrfzWpZirLGGjd3bBOmZdw6KRJ/view?usp=sharing).
> 
> Please remember you can _always_ chat with me down below or over on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/). This is also the first time since I started writing for the fandom in 2015 that I don't have a story I'm working on after this. So if you have a prompt you'd like to see me try, let me know! I can't promise I'll do it (please, nothing _Harry Potter_ or _Hunger Games_ \-- sorry!) but I'll do my best. And.... as always... stay awesome!  
> 


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